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COMPLETE  MANUAL 

Cultiiration 


Of 


THE    CRANBERRY, 


WITH  A  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  BEST  VARIETIES. 


BY   B.   EASTWOOD, 

"•BPTIHU8,"    OF   THE    NEW    YOKK    TKIBC3T1 


NEW-YORK: 

ORANGE    JUDD    &    COMPAN 
245   BROADWAY. 


sv 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  18&6,  by 

C.  M.  8AXTON,  &  CO,. 

tm  U»  Ci«rk'»  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the  Southern  DwRet** 
New  York, 


DEDICATION. 

TO  THE 

HON.  HORACE  GKEELEY, 

OP  THE  NEW  YORK  TRIBUNE,  AND  THE 

ADVOCATE  OP  WHATEVER  MAY  DEVELOP  THE  AoBiccir 

TURAL  BESOUECES  OP  THE  COUNTRY. 

THIS  MANUAL  is  INSCRIBED  BY 

THE  AUTHOR 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MM 

NATURAL  HISTORY  OP  THE  CRANBERRY « 11 

CHAPTER  II. 
FIRST  GROWERS 19 

Difficulties  of  Cultivation— Failures  and  their  Causes— The 
Fruits  of  Experience— Average  Yields  of  Early  Crops. 

CHAPTER  III. 

PROPER  LOCATIONS  OF  CRANBERRY  PATCHES 26 

Uplands  not  Suitable— Reasons  Why— Stagnant  Water — Best 
Aspects— Situations— Shelter  Required. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
SOILS  AND  MODES  OF  PREPARING  THEM 34 

CHAPTER  V. 
VINES , 40 

Time  for  Selection— Healthy  Vines— Their  Appearance — Un- 
healthy Vines— Signs  of. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
CRANBERRY  PATCH 45 

How  to  Make— When  to  Make. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

PAOI 

PLANTING  VINES 49 

Time  for  Bemoving  the  Vine— Best  time  for  Planting- 
Methods  of  Planting — Sod  Planting,  objections  to — Separa- 
tion of  Sod  Vines— How  to  place  the  Roots  and  the  Run- 
ners— Cutting  Planting,  Method  of— Broadcast  Method — 
Propagation  from  the  Seed  in  the  Berry — Methods  of— 
Objections  to. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

TREATMENT  OP  YOUNG  VINES 57 

Weeding— Hoeing — Flooding. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
BLOSSOMING  TIME — PRECAUTIONS  REQUIRED 61 

CHAPTER  X. 

DISEASES  OF  THE  CRANBERRY 64 

The  Worm— Two  Kinds— One  attacks  the  Yine,  and  the  other 
the  Fruit— Fire  Blight— Rot— Best  Remedy  for  the  Worm. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

CRANBERRY  PICKING  TIME 69 

Different  Methods  of  Picking — Raking — Packing. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  GREAT  CRANBERRY  MARKETS 71 

Boston — New  York — Philadelphia — Influence  of  Climate  on 
Prices — Relative  Value  of  Different  Species  of  Cranberries 
— The  Increase  in  the  Consumption  of  Cranberries. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  OXYCOCCUS  PALUSTRIS,  OR  UPLAND  CRANBERRY 77 


vu 


LETTERS  FROM  GROWERS  —  PRACTICAL  HINTS,  &c  .............  81 

VINES,  WHERE  TO  BE  HAD  .................................  108 

APPENDIX  TO  THE  MANUAL  ................................  109 

FLINT'S  STATISTICS  AND  METHOD  OP  CULTUBB  ................  110 

LELAND'S  METHOD.  .                                                              .  .  .  113 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

TITLE  PAGE 1 

BELL  CRANBERRY 18 

BUGLE           "          18 

CHERRY        «*          18 

HEALTHY  VINE 41 

SOD  PLANTING 52 

CENTRAL  CUTTING  PLANTING 53 

CUTTING  PLANTING 54 

DISEASES 64 

CRANBERRIES  OF  COMMERCE. . ,  .76 


$0 


EVERY  one  connected  with  agricultural  pursuits  in 
this  country,  must  be  aware  that  there  exists  at  pre- 
sent considerable  anxiety  respecting  the  best  modes  of 
cultivating  the  cranberry.  Having  been  attracted  to 
this  subject,  I  paid  particular  attention  to  it,  and  in- 
stituted a  series  of  investigations,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  raising  the  berry  as  an  article  of  commerce. 
In  these,  I  was  materially  assisted  by  some  of  the 
most  successful  growers  in  the  country,  whose  "yards"- 
I  visited,  and  whose  experiences  I  received  from  their 
own  lips.  The  results  of  these  investigations  I  par- 
tially embodied  in  a  series  of  letters  which  were  made 
public  through  the  columns  of  the  "New  York 
Tribune,"  and  so  great  was  the  attention  they  excited, 
and  so  many  letters  asking  for  further  information 
were  forwarded  to  me,  that  I  concluded  to  embody  my 
own  experience,  and  that  of  others  on  the  subject,  in 
the  manual  which  is  now  before  the  reader.  In  it,  any 
1* 


10  TO  THE   HEADER. 

intelligent  farmer  will  find  all  the  knowledge  lie  can 
require  for  raising  the  cranberry.  It  only  remains  for 
me  generally,  to  thank  the  many  gentlemen  who  have 
favored  me  with  their  experiences,  and  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  valuable  letters  which  are  incorporated 
with  this  work,  and  to  note  the  designs  by  J.  E.  Dix, 
Esq.,  which  were  made  under  my  own  directions  from 
nature,  and  are  accurate  in  all  respects. 

JANUARY,  1856. 


THE  CRANBERRY 


CHAPTER  I. 

NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE  CRANBERRY 

IF  the  traveller  over  Cape  Cod  will  now  and  then 
turn  his  eye  toward  the  borders  of  the  many  ponds 
which  abound  in  that  region,  or  occasionally  examine 
the  margin  of  swampy  tracts,  he  will  frequently  per- 
ceive patches,  as  they  are  technically  termed,  of  a 
strange-looking,  and  at  first  sight,  a  seemingly  stunted 
vegetation,  presenting  very  different  appearances  to 
those  exhibited  by  fields  of  stately  Indian  corn ;  or 
tracts  of  farm  land,  where  the  tall  stalks  of  the  rye 
wave,  and  ears  of  wheat  look  golden  in  the  sunshine 
of  summer. 

A  certain  preciseness  of  planting,  and  regularity  of 
disposition,  convinces  even  the  most  careless  observer, 
that  these  patches  are  by  no  means  unproductive 
And  if  he  chooses  to  inquire  of  the  next  person  he 
meets,  he  will  learn  that  these,  to  him  singular-looking 
specimens  of  farming,  are  cranberry  grounds. 


12  THE  CKANBERKY. 

We  liave  selected  Cape  Cod  as  the  imaginary  field 
of  our  illustration,  inasmuch  as  that  erroneously  sup- 
posed exclusively  sandy  region  contains  within  its 
boundaries  more  cranberry  yards  than  any  othei 
locality  of  similar  dimensions,  that  we  are  aware  of 
The  reason  why  it  should  be  so,  is  obvious  enough. 
Its  mixture  of  sand  and  soil,  its  peculiar  climate,  its 
exemption  from  early  frosts, — matters  to  which,  with 
others  relevant  to  the  subject,  we  shall  hereafter  refer 
— are  all  favorable  to  the  production  of  cranberries. 
Indeed,  this  berry  promises  to  share,  with  the  codfish, 
a  great  local  popularity. 

There  are  many  other  parts  of  this  great  country 
where  cranberries  are  grown,  but  it  is  confessed  on  all 
hands,  that  Cape  Cod  takes  the  lead  in  this  enterprise. 
Her  few  growers  have  achieved  a  reputation  for  their 
fruit,  which  already  commands  ready  sales,  and  the 
best  prices.  This  circumstance  has  of  late  drawn  at- 
tention to  the  growing  of  cranberries,  as  a  money- 
making  undertaking;  and  curiosity  having  been  once 
excited,  it  is  not  likely  to  be  allayed,  until  growers  in 
other  parts  of  the  States  spring  up,  and  like  their  Cape 
Cod  brethren,  succeed  in  making  otherwise  unproduc- 
tive tracts  of  land  both  fruitful  and  a  source  of  gain. 
For  there  are  at  this  moment  thousands  of  acres  of 
swampy  and  sandy  places,  in  the  great  West  and  in  the 
South,  which  by  a  little  labor  can  be  converted  into 


THE  CRANBERRY.  13 

'cranberry  grounds.  The  only  difficulty  experienced 
by  those  who  are  inclined  to  enter  this  field  of  agri- 
cultural industry,  is  the  difficulty  experienced  by  every 
other  new  enterprise, — the  want  of  knowing  how  to 
begin, — and  when  begun,  how  to  carry  it  on  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue.  Hitherto,  no  reliable  instructions  have 
appeared  in  print,  but  in  the  following  pages,  the  sub- 
ject will  be  so  fully  treated  of,  in  all  its  bearings,  that 
any  intelligent  agriculturist  will,  by  following  the 
hints  thrown  out,  and  the  directions  given,  find  no 
difficulty  whatever  in  securing  decent  crops  of  this  in- 
creasingly popular  berry. 

The  cranberry  has  long  been  known  to  naturalists 
as  a  berry  possessing  certain  properties  and  peculiari- 
ties, although  but  comparatively  few  years  have 
elapsed  since  its  use  as  a  culinary  fruit  has  been  exten- 
sively known.  Long  years  ago,  it  was  used  by  the 
Indians,  who  in  their  way  were  extensively  acquainted 
with  the  products  of  the  soil ;  they  gathered,  and 
Coasted  the  unripe  berries  and  used  them  as  poultices, 
believing  that  when  applied  to  the  wounds  made  by 
poisoned  arrows,  they  had  the  power  of  drawing 
the  venom  forth.  Many  a  squaw  of  the  Pequods  on 
Cape  Cod,  if  we  may  credit  the  statements  of  some  of 
the  early  settlers,  made  a  mess  of  cranberries  to  give  a 
relist  to  the  venison  they  killed  and  cooked ;  thus  an- 
ticipating the  more  elaborate  jelly  of  our  own  times, 


14  THE   CKANBERRY. 

or  the  cranberry  sauce,  without  widen  a  thanksgiving 
turkey  is  now  considered  shorn  of  half  its  glory. 

These  cranberries,  however,  were  wild,  and  of  an 
austere  flavor,  just  as  the  potatoes  which  Sir  "Walter 
Ealeigh  first  discovered  and  carried  with  him  to  Eng- 
land were  but  the  puny  progenitors  of  the  large  and 
mealy  affairs  which  now,  as  Chenangoes,  Irish,  or 
under  other  specific  names,  appear  daily  on  every  table. 

It  is  not  positively  known  from  what  particular 
country  the  cranberry  originally  came.  Most  pro- 
bably, like  many  other  fruits  and  plants,  it  is  indi- 
genous to  many  soils.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  in 
various  parts  of  America,  both  North  and  South,  it 
exists  in  a  wild  state,  in  various  parts,  in  great  profu- 
sion, and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  there 
are  at  this  moment  uncountable  acres  in  this  country 
where  it  abounds  unheeded,  and  only  allowed  to  run 
waste  because  the  value  of  the  berries  is  not  known. 
On  many  of  the  vast  steppes  of  Eussia  wild  cranberries 
abound,  and  even  amid  the  wastes  of  Siberia  it  is  oc.- 
casionally  to  be  met  with.  Indeed,  the  Eussian  cran- 
berries proved  for  a  long  time  to  be  no  inconsiderable 
portion  of  the  exports  of  that  country,  and  even  until 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Eastern  War,  there  were  to  be 
seen  among  bales  of  hides,  hogsheads  of  tallow,  bundles 
of  bristles,  and  bales  of  hemp,  certain  quaint-looking 
earthen  jars,  which  contained  cranberries  /or  the  use 


THE  ENGLISH  CKANBEKKY.  15 

of  the  lords  and  ladies  of  London.  And  it  was  only 
such  who  could  afford  to  pay  the  high  prices  de- 
manded for  these  Muscovite  luxuries.  Now  that  the 
Crimean  "War  has  effectually  put  a  stop  to  the  impor- 
tation of  Kussian  cranberries,  it  is  but  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  the  American  article  will  monopolize  the 
English  market. 

At  the  present  time,  there  are  but  two  kinds  of  cran- 
berries in  the  market — these  are  known  as  the  English 
and  American  cranberry.  Without  entering  into 
scientific  details,  or  perplexing  the  reader  with  botan- 
ical technicalities,  we  will,  as  concisely  as  may  be, 
describe  both  kinds,  and  their  special  peculiarities. 

THE   ENGLISH    CRANBERRY. 

(OXTOOCOUS  PAMTBTBB.) 

This  species  of  cranberry  abounds  in  many  of  the 
marshy  and  fenny  districts  of  England,  and  in  some 
parts  of  Ireland.  In  the  latter  country,  they  are 
scarcely  noticed  by  the  peasantry,  who  seem  to  devote 
all  their  energies  to  the  cultivation  of  the  inevitable 
potato.  There  are  two  counties  in  the  midland,  or 
rather  eastern  districts  of  England,  which  are  cele- 
brated  for  the  large  extent  of  marshes  and  fens  they 
contain.  Indeed,  many  portions  of  Norfolk  and  Lin- 
colnshire are  mere  bogs,  or  swamps,  at  certain  rainy 


16  THE   ENGLISH  CKAKBEKRY. 

seasons ;  thousands  of  acres  are  submerged,  the  only 
harvest  supplied  by  them  being  wild  ducks  and  the 
like,  for  the  great  markets  of  the  principal  cities. 

In  these  counties,  the  wild  cranberry  is  found  in 
great  abundance,  but  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  plant, 
that  it  never  grows  among  the  stagnant  water,  but 
wherever  found,  it  always  flourishes  by  the  side  of  the 
numerous  little  rills  which  feed  the  great  fens.  From 
this  fact,  very  useful  hints  may  be  taken  by  the  grower 
of  the  cultivated  vine,  as  we  shall  have  hereafter  occa- 
sion to  show.  The  English  fruit  is  scarcely  as  large 
as  an  ordinary  green  pea,  it  is  of  a  pale-red  color,  and 
having  an  austere  and  almost  acrid  taste.  It  possesses 
a  bitter  principle,  on  which  its  peculiar  flavor  mainly 
depends,  and  a  small  portion  of  tannin,  which  renders 
the  raw  berry  somewhat  astringent.  This  principle, 
however,  and  of  course  its  effects,  are  destroyed  in 
cooking.  The  English  housewife  from  this  berry 
manufactures  marmalade,  jelly,  jam,  and  the  like,  and 
for  puddings  and  pies  are  much  prized;  but  in  her 
cuisne  the  delicately  flavored  cultivated  cranberry  is 
not  known,  excepting  indeed  her  master,  on  his  return 
from  a  visit  to  London,  brings  with  him  a  bottle  of 
the  American  cranberries,  for  which  he  has  paid  the 
not  very  moderate  price  of  five  shillings  (or  nearly 
a  dollar  and  a  quarter)  sterling.  This  leads  us  to  be- 
lieve that  if  our  transatlantic  parent,  John  Bull,  was  to 


THE  AMERICAN  CRANBERRY.  17 

exercise  as  much  diligence  and  tact  as  his  son  Jonathan 
has  done  on  this  side  the  ocean,  in  cultivating  the  cran- 
berry vines  of  the  fens,  he  would  reap  an  abundant 
harvest  from  lands  which  are  now  lying  as  barren 
wastes.  But  while  the  present  war  lasts,  there  is  little 
chance  of  his  going  ahead  in  this  particular  depart- 
ment of  agriculture ;  and  therefore  the  growers  here 
will  doubtless,  for  a  long  time  to  come,  find  a  market 
in  England  for  the  species  we  will  next  call  the  reader's 
attention  to. 

THE   AMERICAN    CRANBERRY. 

(OXYCOCOTJS  MAOBOOABPTJB.) 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  much  about  a  berry, 
which  must  be  so  familiar  to  almost  all,  as  is  the 
American  cranberry.  Of  course  it  has  the  same  gene- 
ral properties  as  the  English  fruit,  but  yet  there  are 
important  differences,  as  well  as  resemblances.  "While 
the  English  berry  is  small,  of  a  pale  red,  the  American 
one  is  large,  and  richly  colored ;  some  specimens  are  as 
deeply  crimsoned  as  a  dark-hued  cherry.  The  leaves, 
blossom,  and  fruit  of  the  latter  also,  are  much  larger, 
and  the  flavor  greatly  superior ;  by  some  the  reverse 
has  been  asserted,  but  from  experience,  and  practical 
knowledge,  we  can  testify  to  the  superiority  of  the 
American  cranberry  over  all  others  that  we  have  ever 
met  with. 


18  AMERICAN  VARIETIES. 

The  American  cranberry,  is  divided  by  growers  and 
dealers  into  three  great  varieties.  These  are, 

1.  THE  BELL  CRANBERRY. 

2.  THE  BUGLE  CRANBERRY. 

3.  THE  CHERRY  CRANBERRY. 

I.  THE  BELL  CRANBERRY.  —  This  species  is  so 
called  because  of  some  fancied  resemblance  to  a  bell  in 
its  shape.  Of  this  variety  there  is  but  one  kind.  It  is 
about  the  largest  species,  and  almost  as  dark  colored 
as  blood  coral.  Of  its  comparative  yield,  as  well  as  of 
those  of  the  other  kinds,  we  shall  by-and-by  speak. — 
(See  plate  No.  2). 

n.  THE  BUGLE  CRANBERRY.  —  This  species  some- 
what resembles  a  bugle  bead,  it  being  elongated,  and 
approaching  an  oval.  Of  the  bugle  species  there  are 
two  kinds,  large  and  small — the  large  is  generally 
preferred  by  the  growers. — (See  plate  No.  3). 

HE.  THE  CHERRY  CRANBERRY. — So  called  from  its 
similarity  in  shape,  size,  and  color  to  that  well-known 
fruit.  It  is  of  two  kinds,  large  and  small.  Each  of 
these  kinds  are  in  the  market,  and  with  this  brief  but 
sufficient  notice  of  them  we  close  this  chapter. — (See 
plate  No.  4).  ' 


S.L.COX 


BUGLE  CRANBERRY, 

Natural  Size. 

3. 


3.4.COX 


CHERRY   CRANBERRY 

Natural  Sice. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FIRST   GROWERS. 

DIFFICULTIES  OF  CULTIVATION — FAILURES,  AND  THEIR  CAUSES— 
THE  FRUITS  OF  EXPERIENCE — AVERAGE  YIELDS  OF  EARL* 
CROPS. 

MOST  new  enterprises  and  undertakings  have  been 
attended  with  difficulty.  For  the  want  of  correct  know- 
ledge, supported  by  experience,  disappointment  and 
failure  have  frequently  been  the  result  of  efforts  which 
have  been  sought  to  be  crowned  with  success.  There 
is  not  the  commonest  root  or  vegetable  on  the  farm, 
but  what  requires  knowledge  and  experience  in  its 
management. 

Some  individuals  suddenly  determine  upon  quitting 
the  city  store,  and  make  choice  of  a  farmer's  profession 
as  that  which  they  intend  to  follow  in  the  future  of 
their  lives.  But  any  person,  who  knows  even  little 
of  agriculture,  is  certain  of  this,  that  such  an  inexperi- 
enced individual  is  sure  to  meet  with  difficulties  in 
his  new  calling  which  will  be  discouraging ;  and  be- 

(19) 


22  FIRST  GROWERS. 

berry  a  leading  article  of  importance  and  profit  on 
their  farms,  tip  to  that  time  little  was  known  of  how 
the  vine  should  be  managed. 

The  first  cultivators  were  beset  with  difficulties — 
these  were  numerous ;  and  so  great  were  they  deemed, 
that  some  individuals  gave  up  in  despair.  These  diffi- 
culties we  will  briefly  sketch,  that  the  reader  who  con- 
templates making  a  cranberry  yard  may  not  be  dis- 
couraged by  what  he  may  deem  hardships  and  ob- 
stacles in  his  way. 

There  was  a  general  ignorance  of  the  nature  and 
habits  of  the  vine.  Some  vines  were  found  on  the 
edges  of  swamps  and  ponds,  and  their  runners  would 
seem  to  avoid  the  water,  and  seek  the  dry  upland. 
This  led  to  the  opinion  that  a  dry  situation  was  best 
adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  cranberry;  accordingly, 
some  planted  the  vine  in  locations  that  were  rather 
dry  and  arid.  They  lingered  on  for  a  time,  looked 
sickly,  blighted,  and  stunted  in  their  growth,  yielding 
but  little  or  no  fruit.  Some  who  tried  this  method 
were  discouraged. 

The  cranberry  vine  is  likewise  found  away  from  the 
edges  of  the  bogs  and  swamps ;  situated  in  the  centre 
of  these  are  small  mounds  and  tufts  of  soil  that  are  to 
be  met  with  in  abundance.  On  these  elevations  the 
vine  is  often  to  be  found.  It  will  throw  its  runners 
down  to  the  water,  and  from  this  fact,  the  conclusion 


FIRST  GROWERS.  23 

come  to  by  many  was,  that  the  vine  absolutely  needed 
a  situation  like  the  one  described,  and  then  it  would 
do  well  enough.  They  tried  to  imitate  nature  in  this 
respect  and  failed.  They  gave  them  too  much  water, 
and  drowned  them. 

The  question  of  location  was  a  source  of  trouble. 
Some  would  plant  in  the  swamp,  and  others  in  dry 
situations.  Some  would  select  a  southerly  aspect,  and 
others  a  northern  one.  There  was  no  rule  or  experi- 
ence to  guide  them  in  the  commencement  of  forming  a 
yard,  hence  their  difficulties  and  consequent  failures. 

Then,  soils  was  a  source  of  perplexity  to  many. 
Would  the  cranberry  do  better  in  rich  loamy  soil,  than 
in  any  other?  Most  plants  flourished  in  such  earth ; 
then,  why  not  the  vine?  It  was  tried,  and  the  plants 
run  to  vines,  looked  well  and  thrifty,  and  bore  but 
little  fruit.  Clay  must  be  good  for  them.  This  was 
also  tested,  but  it  caked,  and  the  plants  in  summer 
were  stunted,  shrivelled,  and  burnt  up. 

Peat  was  experimented  with,  and  was  found  no 
better  than  clay,  (but  we  shall  show  when  we  come 
to  treat  on  soils,  that  this  vegetable  soil  can  'be 
so  prepared  as  to  be  a  rival  to  beach  sand).  We 
must  not  overlook  the  treatment  to  which  the  vines 
were  subjected  in  these  early  days  of  the  cranberry 
culture.  They  were  too  frequently  planted  and  left 
to  take  care  of  themselves,  and  the  wild  grass — the 


24  FIRST  GROWERS. 

almost  fatal  enemy  of  the  vine — would  choke  them. 
All  these  difficulties  produced  their  results.  Some 
gave  up,  but  others  tried  and  experimented  again  and 
again,  until  success  crowned  their  efforts. 

The  fruits  of  this  rich  experience  are  abundant,  and 
have  proved  useful  to  those  who  are  now  intending  to 
cultivate  the  cranberry  vine.  They  have  improved 
the  vine  itself — have  naturalized  it,  have  by  cultiva- 
tion made  the  vine  yield  largely,  and  a  fruit,  too,  in 
some  instances  about  thrice  the  size  of  the  berry  in  its 
native  swamp,  or  bog.  The  intending  cultivator  has 
now  this  advantage  over  the  first  growers :  he  has  in- 
structions to  fall  back  upon,  instructions  which  it  is 
safe  to  follow,  because  practical  experiment  has  taught 
us  what  is  to  be  avoided,  and  what  is  to  be  done.  A 
yard  can  now  be  prepared  at  a  much  less  cost  than  it 
could  in  former  years,  and  those  who  have  persevered 
in  keeping  their  yards  in  a  good  condition,  and  have 
enlarged  them,  have  for  the  last  few  years  been  real- 
izing more  than  paying  profits.  It  is  this  experience 
which  cheapens  the  cost  of  a  yard,  for  the  advantage 
is  with  him  who  knows  how  to  make  it,  while  the 
ignorant  will  have  to  fight  the  difficulties  and  obstacles 
which  opposed  the  first  growers,  and  consequently  it 
will  entail  greater  expense  upon  him. 

The  average  yield  of  early  crops  is  not  large.  It 
takes  a  few  years  for  the  vines  to  mat,  and  if  the  loca 


FIRST  GROWERS.  25 

tion  is  suitable,  and  they  receive  a  moderate  degree  of 
attention,  each  year  will  increase  their  productive  capa- 
bilities, so  that  the  third  or  fourth  year  will  begin  to 
pay  the  cultivator  with  remunerative  prices. 

From  the  difficulties  presented  in  this  chapter  which 
lay  in  the  path  of  the  early  growers  of  the  cranberry, 
let  not  the  reader  be  discouraged.  There  is  no  occa- 
sion for  such  a  feeling,  because  you  have  the  benefit 
of  experience,  and  the  best  method  of  cultivation  to 
guide  you;  the  particulars  of  which  we  shall  state  in 
the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  III 

PROPER  LOCATIONS  FOR  CRANBERRY 
PATCHES. 

UPLANDS  NOT  SUITABLE — EEASON  WHY — STAGNANT  WATER  NOT 
SUITABLE — BEST  ASPECTS— SITUATIONS— SHELTER  KEQUIRED. 

JUST  at  tliis  time  there  is  considerable  excitement 
on  the  subject  of  cranberry  cultivation.  It  is  proba- 
ble that  it  has  to  some  extent  been  created  by  the  very 
high  prices  which  this  fruit  has  been  fetching  of  late 
years,  but  more  especially  in  the  fall  of  1855.  It  is 
quite  proper  that  a  practical  farmer,  who  is  aware  of 
the  fact  above  stated,  should  ask  himself  if  he  cannot 
cultivate  the  vine  ?  if  he  cannot  turn  some  portion  of 
his  land  to  some  account  ?  if  he  cannot  appropriate 
a  small  patch  of  low  meadow  land  to  be  planted  with 
cranberries  ?  It  is  believed  that  many  who  are  keenly 
alive  to  this  subject,  would  at  once  begin  to  make  a 
survey  of  their  farm  to  ascertain  whether  any  part  of 
it  would  be,  or  could  be  made  into  a  good  profitable 
cranberry  patch,  providing  they  knew  what  kind  of 


LOCATIONS  FOR  PATCHES.          27 

locations  are  most  suitable,  and  best  adapted  to  develop 
this  berry. 

In  reference  to  locations,  there  are  various  opinions, 
each  grower  giving  the  preference  to  those  situations 
in  which  his  own  vines  do  best. 

"We  find  that  there  are  such  differences  on  this  sub- 
ject that  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  state  them  as  clearly 
as  we  can,  and  then  describe  those  locations  to  which 
the  generality  of  producers  so  strictly  adhere. 

The  question  has  often  been  put,  Can  cranberries  .be 
grown  on  uplands  ?  Is  it  a  suitable  situation  ?  will  it 
pay  to  plant  on  elevated  grounds  ?  The  cranberry  is 
not  a  native  of  the  upland,  and  will  never  do  well  in 
such  situations  if  there  is  not  nigh  to  the  roots  some 
of  those  elements  which  nourish  and  strengthen  the 
plant  in  its  wild  and  unreclaimed  condition.  The 
cranberry  needs  moisture,  and  that  in  great  proportions 
for  so  small  a  plant.  If  it  is  set  out  on  the  upland, 
and  it  does  not  derive  sufficient  moisture  from  the  at- 
mosphere, that  is,  more  than  is  needed  by  surrounding 
vegetation,  and  if  it  cannot  derive  it  from  another 
source,  it  will  die. 

If  the  cranberry  is  planted  upon  the  upland,  water 
should  be  in  the  ground,  so  as  to  supply  the  roots  with 
moisture.  If  that  situation  is  an  incline,  it  will  be 
better,  because  it  will  take  off  the  surplus  water  under 
the  plants,  and  leave  them  enough  to  meet  their  de- 


28          LOCATIONS  FOR  PATCHES. 

mands.  In  upland  planting,  where  the  vines  have 
done  well  and  produced  good  crops,  we  are  of  opinion 
that  they  have  been  favorably  situated. 

In  the  absence,  or  rather  scarcity  of  moisture,  it  is 
common  to  hoe  and  stir  the  soil  about  the  roots  of  the 
plants,  that  it  may  be  kept  porous,  so  that  the  air  may 
contribute  to  the  vine's  necessities. 

You  must  not  forget  this,  that  those  who  plant  on 
uplands  are  put  to  trouble  and  expense  in  frequent 
hoeing.  Some  individuals  seem  to  admire  and  prefer 
the  upland,  but  we  cannot  see  any  reason  for  this,  ex 
cept  that  it  is  the  best  situation  they  have  at  command. 
Years  of  trial  and  experiment  may  yet  bring  this  loca- 
tion into  notoriety.  We  have  seen  the  upland  tried 
on  Cape  Cod,  but  the  plants  failed,  though  some  few 
lived  and  yielded  fruit.  The  gentleman*  who  tried 
this  experiment,  believes  that  if  he  had  taken  care  of 
his  plants  and  hoed  them  often,  he  would  have  succeed- 
ed better.  This  is  his  opinion.  In  our  investigations 
on  this  subject  we  fell  in  with  the  following  item  in  the 
Boston  Telegraph,  which  we  give  entire,  that  the  reader 
may  have  all  the  evidence  we  can  give  him  in  favor 
of  the  upland  as  a  suitable  location  for  cranberries : 

"Other  experiments,  however,  show  the  practica- 
bility of  raising  cranberries  on  upland.  Mr.  Koberts' 

*  James  Howes,  Esq. 


LOCATIONS  FOR  PATCHES.          29 

experiment  embraced  a  tract  near  the  foot  of  a  slope 
descending  in  a  westerly  direction.  The  ground  was 
ploughed  eight  inches  deep,  and  harrowed ;  light  fur- 
rows, three  and  a  half  feet  apart,  were  run  lengthwise, 
and  the  sods  were  cut  from  the  swamp,  carted  on  the  up- 
land, and  placed  three  feet  apart  in  the  rows  (though 
two  would  have  been  better),  then  carefully  hoed  and 
kept  free  from  weeds  for  two  years.  No  water  was 
supplied  except  that  received  from  occasional  rains." 

Notwithstanding  this  evidence  appears  strong  and 
conclusive,  yet  we  believe  that  the  most  experienced 
cultivators  regard  the  experiment  as  hazardous,  and  in 
most  cases  fatal  to  the  development  of  the  cranberry. 
"We  give  the  opinion  of  one  of  the  oldest  cultivators 
on  Cape  Cod,  which  is, — "  that  if  you  plant  on  the 
upland  it  is  difficult  to  raise  your  vines  to  bearing  per- 
fection, and  it  will  entail  much  labor  and  expense  upon 
him  who  undertakes  it.  Guard  against  the  upland 
mania."  Upland  planting  is  regarded  as  "  risky  busi- 
ness ;"  it  is  therefore  avoided  on  Cape  Cod,  where  the 
management  of  the  vine  is  better  understood  than  in 
any  other  part  of  America. 

Places  in  which  stagnant  water  has  collected  have 
been  selected  by  some  persons,  and  converted  into 
cranberry  patches.  It  is  positively  wrong  to  do  this, 
because  the  water  lodging  in  the  soil  having  no  drain 
by  which  it  may  be  drawn  off,  renders  it  sodden,  cold, 


30          LOCATIONS  FOR  PATCHES. 

and  stiff,  and  it  consequently  causes  the  roots  of  the 
vine  to  rot,  and  ultimately  the  plants  die  from  such  a 
surfeit.  Such  locations  cannot  with  safety  be  chosen 
except  they  undergo  a  thorough  preparation — draining, 
levelling,  and  carting  on  soil,  which  is  friendly  to  the 
growth  of  cranberries. 

If  these  stagnant  pools  are  selected,  great  precau- 
tions will  be  demanded  in  order  to  make  them  suita- 
ble for  the  reception  of  the  vine. 

Let  us  name  those  locations,  and  point  out  those 
situations  which  are  most  conducive  to  the  full  devel- 
opment of  the  berry.  * 

In  selecting  a  place  for  a  patch,  it  is  well  to  consider 
its  aspect.  Though  we  have  seen  the  vine  doing  well; 
and  to  all  appearances  very  thrifty,  when  the  yard  has 
faced  the  north,  yet  experience  is  in  favor  of  a  souther- 
ly direction.  If  possible,  in  forming  your  patch,  let  it 
be  sheltered  from  the  cold  raw  winds ;  give  it  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  warm  breezes ;  by  doing  this  you  will 
be  more  likely  to  succeed  than  if  you  neglected  it. 

A  swamp  may  be  chosen.  If  you  find  the  vine 
growing  round  the  edges  of  a  bog,  you  may  safely 
conclude  that  the  plant  can  there  be  advantageously 
cultivated.  In  the  preparation  of  these  locations,  there 
is  often  much  labor  and  some  expense.  But  this  de- 
pends upon  its  surface,  what  you  have  to  do  in  remov- 
ing the  turf  and  "  filling  in."  It  is  customary  with 


LOCATIONS  FOR  PATCHES.  31 

some  growers  to  redeem  a  certain  proportion  of  their 
swamps  yearly ;  by  thus  proceeding,  they  ultimately 
overcome  the  natural  obstacles  before  them,  and  ac- 
complish what  they  intended  to  realize.  The  sight  of 
each  year's  progress  encourages  them  to  persevering 
effort.  Then  it  must  be  so  that  you  can  drain  off  the 
water  at  your  own  pleasure.  If  you  make  a  cranberry 
patch  in  a  swamp,  and  it  is  liable  to  have  water  stand- 
ing in  pools  over  the  vines  in  the  summer  season,  this 
will  operate  as  a  hindrance  to  the  ripening  of  the 
berry.  This  precaution  must  be  observed  in  making 
choice  of  such  a  situation,  that  you  can  expel  or  draw 
off  the  water,  when  it  is  necessary. 

Meadow  land,  which  is  low  and  moist,  affords  an 
excellent  location  for  the  cranberry.  In  fact,  these 
damp  situations  are  very  suitable,  providing  the  damp- 
ness or  moisture  is  not  too  cold  and  icy.  If  the  mois- 
ture beneath  the  surface  in  which  the  vine  is  planted 
is  of  too  cold  a  temperature,  it  will  prove  fatal  to  the 
young  vines.  Care  must  be  had,  in  selecting  for  a 
yard,  to  ascertain  if  the  water  is  too  cold;  if  it  is  not,  it 
may  be  converted  into  a  useful  and  profitable  cran- 
berry patch.  There  must  be  water  in  the  land  in  which 
they  are  planted.  As  a  general  rule,  it  is  best  to  have 
it  within  twelve  inches  of  the  surface.  The  object 
of  this  is  to  give  moisture  The  grower  must  have  it, 
or  his  plants  will  fail. 


32          LOCATIONS  FOB  PATCHES. 

A  gradual  slope  is  often  to  be  met  with,  coming 
down  to  the  edge  of  a  pond.  When  such  inclines  are 
properly  prepared  and  planted,  they  make  the  best  of 
yards;  and  such  locations  generally  have  a  soil  in 
which  the  vine  will  do  excellently ;  and  there  is  not 
so  much  trouble  with  them,  as  the  gravel  chokes  the 
weed. 

Sheltered  and  protected  positions  should  be  sought 
after ;  situations  in  which  the  plants  are  not  likely  to 
receive  and  meet  with  the  force  of  the  fiercest  and 
stormiest  weather. 

Sandy  patches  of  land,  or  plats,  that  are  near  to 
the  sea-shore,  which  are  not  liable  to  be  overflowed 
with  the  salt  water,  on  Cape  Cod,  stand  high.  We 
have  examined  many  yards  that  are  situated  within  a 
few  rods  of  the  ocean,  only  protected  from  the  hardest 
weather  by  a  small  rising  in  the  land,  which  forms  a 
bank  to  resist  the  waves ;  and  these  yards  are  among 
the  handsomest  in  the  county  of  Barnstable;  and 
every  year  these  situations  are  becoming  of  more  value 
and  consequence  to  the  cultivators  of  the  cranberry. 

There  are  on  Long  Island,  and  in  New  Jersey,  vast 
tracts  of  beach  land  which  are  available,  and  admirably 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  cranberries.  Likewise,  in 
the  South  and  West,  there  are  thousands  of  acres 
which  are  better  adapted  for  the  production  of  this 
fruit  than  anything  else. 


LOCATIONS  FOR  PATCHES.  33 

It  is  worth,  the  agriculturist's  while  to  pay  some 
attention  to  this  subject.  Every  year  tlie  cranberry  is 
in  greater  demand,  higher  prices  are  being  realized. 
It  is  becoming  a  staple  article  in  the  great  markets  of 
the  country.  Then,  why  do  you,  whom  nature  has 
favored  with  all  you  need,  but  planting  your  yard, 
neglect  to  make  an  effort  to  share  the  profits  arising 
from  the  cultivation  and  sale  of  this  article  ? 

pSToTE. — In  planting  vines,  dead  levels  by  the  side 
of  the  ponds  should  be  guarded  against.  The  yard 
should  conform  to  the  land  behind  it,  sloping  from  the 
hill  to  the  edge  of  the  pond.  The  reason  for  this  is, 
that  if  it  is  not  done,  water  from  the  hills  will  cause 
the  land  to  be  springy  and  spongy,  and  that  it  will 
make  stagnant  water,  which,  generates  a  green,  slimy 
moss,  which  is  an  enemy  to  the  cranberry  vine.] 
2* 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SOILS     AND    THE  MODE    OF   PREPARINQ 
THEM 

IT  is  of  importance  that  the  nature  of  those  soils  in 
which  the  cranberry  will  most  easily  grow,  should  be 
considered,  and  known  to  those  who  intend  turning 
their  attention  to  its  culture.  Many  failures  have  re- 
sulted, not  so  much  from  the  unsuitableness  of  the 
location  chosen,  as  from  the  badness  of  the  soil.  It  is 
generally  the  case,  that  the  best  and  richest  soils  are 
selected,  as  those  in  which  experiments  ought  to  be 
tried.  Failures  sometimes  occur,  not  because  the 
climate  or  the  season  are  unsuitable,  but  because  the 
soil  is  too  rich.  If  the  vine  is  planted  in  good  alluvial 
soil,  it  will  do  well,  apparently,  but  it  will  not  bear 
fruit.  Such  soil  will  cause  the  plant  to  abound  with 
healthy  foliage,  and  a  vast  quantity  of  runners,  but  no 
fruit.  Manuring  is  wholly  out  of  the  question.  If  it 
is  attempted,  it  will  "kill  the  plants,  or  in  some  cases 
make  them  grow  rank,  and  they  will  be  worse  than 
they  are  found  to  be  in  their  native  swamp. 

Clay  and  marl  are  totally  unfit  for  cranberry  col- 

(84) 


PREPARING  SOILS.  35 

tivation.  Either  of  this  class  are  liable  to  cake  and 
become  hard ;  and  whatever  soil  cakes  and  sogs  around 
the  root  of  the  plant,  is  to  be  avoided. 

If  intending  cultivators  would  exercise  some  caution 
in  the  choice  of  soil,  it  would  prevent  both  trouble  and 
expense.  Failure  is  often  caused  by  inattention  at  this 
stage  of  the  undertaking. 

Rocky  loam  is  not  very  favorable  to  the  development 
of  the  cranberry.  The  objection  which  lies  against  it 
is,  that  wiry  grass  and  rushes  abound  therein.  These 
grasses  and  rushes  are  to  be  guarded  against  in  a  cran- 
berry yard,  or  they  will  choke  the  vine.  Loam  of  the 
kind  above-named  may  be  made  to  do,  but  it  will  re- 
quire excessive  cultivation,  in  order  to  effect  anything 
of  importance. 

Heavy  soils,  taken  as  a  class,  are  not  of  much  service ; 
the  grower  will  do  well  to  avoid  them  to  as  great^  an 
extent  as  possible.  And,  indeed,  it  is  questionable 
whether  the  vine  can  be  cultivated  at  all  to  any  pur- 
pose on  soils  of  the  above  description.  The  vine  may 
grow  on  such  lands  and  seem  to  nourish,  but  they  will 
not  bear ;  they  are  unfruitful,  and  if  so,  therefore  un- 
profitable. 

The  following  soils  are  those  which  are  preferred  by 
the  Cape  Cod  cranberry  cultivators.  There  is  one  fact 
which  ought  to  be  stated  here,  as  introductcsry  to  the 
subsequent  suggestions  and  statements^  and  it  will  not 


36  PREPARING  SOILS 

be  amiss  for  the  inexperienced  cultivator  to  remember 
it.  If  he  bears  it  in  mind,  he  will  avoid  many  diffi- 
culties which  have  discouraged  others.  It  is  this: 
Dead  sand,  water  and  air,  are  the  elements  upon  which 
the  cranberry  feeds  the  best,  and  attains  its  highest  de- 
gree of  perfection;  therefore,  that  soil  and  location 
which  has  these  advantages  is  best  adapted  for  the 
growth  of  the  berry. 

Beach  sand  stands  the  first.  All  other  kinds  must 
be  rejected  if  this  can  be  got.  Experience  teaches  us 
this.  Those  yards  which  are  wholly  bottomed  by  beach 
sane?  nourish  and  yield  abundantly,  far  better  than  those 
that  have  a  different  soil.  During  the  past  fifteen  years 
every  variety  of  soil  and  situation  have  been  experi- 
mented with,  and  the  results  are  entirely  in  favor  of 
the  beach  sand.  On  Cape  Cod,  the  greatest  cranberry 
field  in  America,  situations  are  sought  for  where  the 
cultivator  can  be  near  to  the  shore,  that  he  may  be 
able  to  put  on  this  sand,  if  it  is  not  on  his  chosen 
location. 

We  will,  in  this  connection,  call  attention  to  a  small 
yard  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  which  is  situated 
near  to  the  sea-shore.  It  was  originally  a  pond; 
water  stood  in  the  basin,  but  it  was  not  deep.  On  the 
banks  and  edges  of  this  pond  was  sand  in  abundance, 
which  the  owner  spaded  down  to  the  water,  and  con- 
tinued to  fill  in.  He  planted;  some  said  it  would 


PREPARING  SOILS.  37 

not  do  much,  but  now  it  is  one  of  the  handsomest 
yards  in  the  county.  Everything  seems  to  be  favor- 
able— soil,  situation,  and  water — and  the  result  is,  heavy 
yields  of  the  berry.  In  this,  as  many  as  three  bushels 
have  been  picked  off  a  square  rod.  And  so  well  is  it 
now  known  that  situations  where  beach  sand  abounds 
are  the  best,  that  the  most  practical  men  are  buying  up 
such  locations  with  the  view  of  converting  them  into 
cranberry  yards. 

We  are  acquainted  with  one  cultivator,  whose  yards 
produce  from  two  to  three  hundred  bushels  of  cran- 
berries annually,  who  has  the  greatest  proportion  of 
his  vines  planted  in  the  beach  sand,  and  some  few  in 
loam.  The  difference  between  the  two  is  marked.  Those 
in  sand  are  fruitful,  those  in  loam  are  but  small  pro- 
ducers. He  therefore  carts  off  the  loam,  or  carts  upon 
it  beach  sand. 

"We  could  produce  a  vast  body  of  evidence  to  demon 
strate  that  beach  sand  is  better  adapted  to  develop  the 
cranberry  than  any  other  soil ;  but  the  cases  adduced 
are  sufficient. 

There  is  another  reason,  though,  which  should  not 
be  lost  sight  of,  why  this  sand  is  so  much  better  than 
any  other  soil.  It  is  light,  porous,  and  is  almost  inca- 
pable of  supporting  weeds.  It  admits  the  atmosphere 
freely  to  the  roots  of  the  vine,  and  is  found  to  be  the 
only  soil  in  which  the  rank  weeds  can  be  effectually 


38  PREPARING   SOILS. 

kept  down.  It  will  thus  be  clear  to  the  reader,  that 
in  such  a  situation,  the  plant  can  throw  out  its  runners 
in  every  direction,  and  having  no  weed  to  contend 
against,  will  therefore  spread  rapidly,  and  soon  become 
matted,  a  condition  of  the  yard  towards  which  the  prac- 
tical man  looks  with  anxiety.  If  you  are  about  to  make 
the  attempt  to  cultivate  the  cranberry,  if  possible,  ob- 
tain beach  sand  in  which  to  set  out  your  vines;  or 
coarse  sand  when  the  former  cannot  be  obtainedj  but 
the  white  is  preferred. 

Peat  is  found  to  be  excellent,  in  fact,  next  in  value 
and  importance  to  the  beach  sand,  for  the  growth  of 
cranberries.  But  peat  wants  management  and  care  in 
its  preparation,  in  order  to  be  made  useful  to  the  vine. 
In  selecting  a  peat  swamp  to  be  converted  into  a  cran- 
berry patch,  it  is  necessary  to  take  off  the  top  turf,  or 
grass,  and  if  possible  give  the  yard  a  little  incline. 
When  this  is  done,  it  is  unsafe  to  plant  at  once.  If 
you  do  so,  you  will  find  that  the  peat  will  in  the  fol- 
lowing summer  cake  and  crack.  It  will  be  hard  on  the 
surface,  and  some  few  inches  below  stiff  and  dry. 
The  veriest  tyro  in  cranberry  cultivation  knows  that 
such  a  condition  is  very  bad  for  the  vine. 

How  is  this  difficulty  obviated?  Prepare  the  surface 
as  we  have  stated  above,  and  leave  the  yard  exposed 
to  the  frost  and  weather  for  one  year.  When  the  frost 
is  thawed  out  of  it,  it  will  crumble  and  be  powdery. 


PEEPABING  SOILS.  30 

It  will  never  cake  afterward.  It  will  be  light  and 
porous.  You  may  then  with  safety  plant  your  vines, 
and  with  moderate  attention  they  will  do  well. 

[N"OTE. — "We  have  lately  visited  a  famous  cranberry 
producer,  who  is  filling  up  a  pond  with  loam,  composed 
of  sand,  clay,  and  a  small  proportion  of  marl.  The 
pond  is  about  four  feet  deep.  When  this  is  filled  up 
and  levelled,  he  will  plant  it  in  the  spring,  believing 
that  the  soil  will  meet  the  wants  of  the  vine.] 


CHAPTER  V. 

VINES. 

TIME   FOR   SELECTION — HEALTHY  VINES — THEIR  APPEARANCE — 
UNHEALTHY  VINES — SIGNS  OF. 

IT  is  possible  that  an  intending  cranberry  cultivator 
may  have  the  advantages  of  location  and  soils,  plant 
vines,  and  fail.  If  the  bearing  or  fruitful  vine  is  not 
chosen,  the  result  of  the  first  attempt  will  be  unprofit- 
able. In  determining  upon  making  a  trial,  it  is  neces 
sary  that  the  inexperienced  should  have  some  know- 
ledge of  the  plants  which  he  is  about  to  purchase,  or  he 
should  have  implicit  confidence  in  the  person  from 
whom  he  buys  them. 

The  cranberry  vine  is  such  a  simple,  insignificant- 
looking  plant,  and  the  difference  in  the  varieties  is  so 
hard  to  be  distinguished,  that  this  fact  accounts  in 
some  measure  for  the  utter  failure  of  so  many.  There 
are  instances,  which  we  could  easily  cite,  where  even 
some  of  the  most  experienced  have  been  misled  and 
deceived  by  the  appearance  of  the  vine :  then,  we  can- 
not wonder  at  the  beginner  suffering  loss.  "We  are 

(40) 


VINES.  41 

aware  that  under  the  head  of  this  chapter  we  are  tread- 
ing on  delicate  ground,  and  confess  that  we  feel  the 
difficulty  of  making  the  distinctive  peculiarities  of  the 
vines  so  clear,  that  from  this  account  a  person  may 
distinguish  and  select  for  himself.  (See  Plate  No.  6.) 

In  some  cases  the  vine  will  be  planted  in  the  fall, 
and  at  such  times  they  are  purchased  most  probably 
immediately  before  setting  out.  Of  course,  the  leaf 
will  be  examined,  and  the  color  and  strength  of  the 
spears  noticed.  If  the  purchaser  relies  upon  the  green 
appearance  of  the  vine  as  an  indication  of  its  fruitful- 
ness,  he  may  be  deceived,  and  regret  that  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  misled  by  such  a  sign. 

Another  may  determine  upon  planting  in  the  spring 
(which  is  certainly  under  some  circumstances  the  most 
favorable  season),  and  in  such  a  case  they  would  select 
and  prepare  their  location  in  the  course  of  the  winter, 
that  in  May  or  June  they  might  be  ready  to  plant  or 
set  out.  Plants  for  spring  planting  are  most  frequently 
chosen  in  the  winter.  But  generally,  the  buying  of 
plants  at  such  times  is  a  mere  piece  of  guess-work,  for 
there  is  likely  nothing  in  their  appearance  which  may 
certify  the  purchaser  that  they  are  good  and  fruitful. 
Plants  may  be  selected  in  the  spring  or  fall ;  one  time 
is  as  favorable  as  the  other  for  this  purpose. 

In  speaking  of  the  Healthy  Vine,  we  wish  to  be  Tin- 
dertood  as  referring  to  that  which  is  the  most  fruitful — 


42  VINES. 

bears  the  most  abundantly — for  there  is  a  vine  which 
is  barren — and  that  we  choose  to  describe  as  the 
Unliealthy  Plant. 

THE  HEALTHY  VINE,  as  far  as  we  have  been  able  to 
discover,  presents  an  appearance  of  greenish  brown  on 
the  leaf,  the  spears  and  runners  are  fine  and  thin, 
remarkable  for  their  wiry  nature  and  aspect.  They 
seem  of  stunted  growth,  but  form  beautiful  and  tufted 
groups  of  spears  in  their  process  of  matting. 

The  Unhealthy  Vine  appears  altogether  brighter  and 
stronger,  and  hence  from  this  peculiarity  some  are  apt 
to  be  mistaken.  We  will  on  this  point  give  the  expe- 
rience of  an  old  and  practical  grower,  as  it  is  from  him 
we  have  derived  our  information.  He  prepared  some 
land  adjoining  a  fresh- water  pond,  which  in  every  way 
was  adapted  to  develop  the  cranberry  vine.  He  came 
in  contact  with  a  few  rods  of  vines  which  seemed  to 
be  good,  and  his  impression  was  that  if  he  could  secure 
them  he  would  soon  have  an  excellent  yard.  He 
bought  them  and  set  them  out;  he  watched  them 
closely,  and  was  gratified  in  seeing  them  look  so 
thrifty.  They  spread  and  matted  remarkably  quick, 
and  he  hoped  for  a  great  yield  from  such  young  vines. 
But  when  blossoming-time  came,  he  perceived  that  they 
did  not  put  out  so  much  as  his  other  vines,  and  that 
there  were  but  very  few  berries  on  them  when  picking- 
time  came.  He  tried  these  vines  year  after  year,  and 


VINES.  43 

they  only  yielded  here  and  there  a  fruit.  He  might 
have  sold  those  vines  repeatedly,  but  he  refused  to  do 
so,  and  ultimately  pulled  them  up  and  threw  them 
into  the  pond.  We  asked  him  what  the  difference  be- 
tween those  barren  vines  and  the  fruitful  ones  was. 
This  is  his  statement  relative  to  this  point : 

"The  barren  vines  looked  greener,  had  more  bushy 
leaves,  and  stronger  or  thicker  spears  than  those  which 
produced  the  most  fruit.  I  felt  confident  from  their 
appearance  that  they  were  the  best  vines  I  ever  saw; 
but  I  lived  to  find  out  that  those  signs  which  I  took 
to  indicate  the  productiveness  of  the  plant,  were  only 
symptoms  of  disease,  which  disease  means  barrenness"* 

This  is  the  only  case  we  have  met  with  in  which 
there  was  such  a  total  failure  in  the  productiveness  of 
a  good-looking  vine. 

From  what  has  been  here  stated,  we  fear  that  the  diffi- 
culty of  distinguishing  between  the  barren  and  fruit- 
ful vine  has  not  been  much  obviated ;  but  we  will  now 
state  a  method  of  selecting  your  vines,  which  cannot 
fail  of  assuring  you  of  their  real  qualities. 

We  assume  that  you  contemplate  making  a  Cran- 
berry Patch,  that  you  have  not  on  your  own  farm  any 
vines,  consequently  you  will  have  to  go  abroad  for 
them. 

1.  Ascertain  who  has  the  vine  to  dispose  of.    If  you 

*  Mr.  Thomas  Shiverick. 


44  VINES. 

are  in  a  position  to  find  several,  all  the  better.  Assur« 
ing  yourself  that  vines  are  for  sale  by  the  individuals 
whom  you  have  found,  before  you  buy  take  this  pre- 
caution. 

2.  When  the  fruit  is  nearly  ripe,  go  to  those  yards 
or  patches  in  which  the  vine  is  for  sale.   See  how  they 
bear.    If  they  bear  well,  or  give  a  yield  which  is  equal 
to  the  average  of  the  vines  of  that  year,  you  may  buy. 
You  will  be  certain  that  those  plants  are  not  diseased. 
You  may  then  let  them  remain  in  the  patch  until  you 
are  ready  to  transplant,  with  this  satisfaction,  that  you 
have  obtained  a  good  article. 

3.  Or,  if  you  have  confidence  in  the  person  with 
whom  you  deal,  you  can  purchase  as  well  in  the  winter 
as  at  any  other  period  of  the  year;  for  the  grower 
knows  well  which  vines  are  good,  and  which  bad,  in 
what  part  of  his  yard  grows  the  fine  Cape  Cod  Bell 
Cranberry,  and  every  other  variety. 

These  suggestions  may  be  safely  followed  by  the 
inexperienced  in  reference  to  cranberry  culture,  and 
lead  to  the  most  favorable  results,  as  they  will  prevent 
deception,  a  consideration  of  some  importance  in  an 
undertaking  of  this  description. 

[NOTE. — The  healthy  vine,  by  some  cultivators,  is 
stated  to  be  of  medium  thickness,  or  strength  of  spear, 
and  bushy  leaves.  All  the  barren  vines  which  we 
have  exarrfined  are  stouter  than  the  yielding  ones.] 


CHAPTER  YI. 

CRANBERRY   PATCH. 

How  TO  MAKE — WHEN  TO  MABTH. 

IN  the  foregoing  chapters  of  this  manual,  locations  and 
soils  best  adapted  to  develop  the  cranberry  vine  have 
been  pointed  out ;  it  may  not  be  unadvisable  now  to 
describe  the  different  methods  of  making  a  patch. 

1.  On  some  farms,  locations  and  soils  are  all  that  can 
be  desired  for  the  above  purpose ;  in  such  a  case  there 
will  be  little  demanded  beyond  labor.  Should  the 
situation  be  that  of  a  shallow  pond,  with  a  sandy  bot- 
tom, in  which  the  water  stands  deep  in  the  winter,  and 
in  summer  it  almost  dries  up,  the  first  step  to  be  taken 
is,  either  to  construct  a  drain  or  ditch,  by  which 
you  may  draw  off  the  water  from  the  pond.  Should 
the  bottom  or  surface  be  uneven  and  irregular,  you 
must  endeavor  to  make  it  more  level.  It  is  not  an  un- 
common practice  with  some  growers,  to  make  their 
patches  flat,  but  this  is  rather  passing  into  disrepute  x; 
the  incline  plan  of  construction  or  formation  being 
preferred  by  most  cultivators. 

(45) 


46  CRANBERRY   PATCH. 

The  sand  which,  is  on  the  edges  of  the  pond  can  be 
carted  or  wheeled  to  the  centre,  so  that  you  can  bring 
the  holes  to  that  height  which  is  most  desirable.  When 
this  is  done,  you  may  rake  over  and  give  your  patch 
that  degree  of  sloping  which  will  carry  off  the  cold 
spring  water.  The  object,  in  such  a  situation  as  this, 
of  making  a  drain,  is  to  carry  off  the  water  in  the 
spring  and  summer ;  but  however  favorable  it  may  be 
to  have  your  vines  "flowed"  in  the  winter,  that  "flow- 
ing" must  in  the  summer  be  prevented ;  the  drain  does 
this  effectually. 

2.  Swamps  or  logs  have  been  spoken  of  as  favorable 
situations  in  which  the  cranberry  vine  can  be  culti- 
vated. In  such  locations,  there  is  generally  more  labor 
and  expense  incurred  in  their  preparation  than  in 
many  others.  First,  the  brush  and  undergrowth  must 
be  cleared  off.  Secondly,  the  top  turf  ought  to  be  re- 
moved, if  possible.  If  there  is  not  sand  in  or  about 
the  margin  of  the  swamp,  if  it  is  not  too  distant,  of 
course  you  will  cart  it  in,  and  "fill  up"  and  "fill  in," 
making  the  covering  about  four  inches  thick. 

You  will  have  to  guard  against,  in  this  situation,  the 
"  coarse  wild  grass,"  which  is  the  enemy  of  the  vine. 
This  is  done  by  spading  off  the  surface,  and  "  filling 
in"  with  the  sand.  Should  this  situation  be  liable  to 
be  overflowed  with  water  in  the  summer,  the  drain 
must  be  resorted  to  in  order  to  save  the  vines,  and 


CRANBERRY  PATCH.  47 

them  a  fair  chance  of  blossoming  and  developing 
Che  berry. 

3.  The  banks  of  fresh-water  ponds,  when  properly- 
managed  and  prepared,  are  good.      Should  such   a 
situation  be  too  stony,  the  stones  and  rocks  may  be  re- 
moved, and  the  surface  made  as  fine  as  possible. 
Should  the  water  of  the  pond  be  apt  to  rise  too  high, 
at  an  unseasonable  part  of  the  year,  and  flood  the 
vines,  this  ought  to  be  guarded  against  by  forming  an 
embankment,  which  would  preserve  the  yard  from 
being  deluged. 

4.  There  are  situations  which  can  be  made  available 
for  a  cranberry  patch  by  a  little  labor.     It  will  be  ob- 
served, that  there  are  locations  which  are  favorable, 
both  as  to  aspect  and  soil.    But  they  are  uneven  or 
undulating.     It  is  not  unfrequently  the  case  that  a 
part  of  that  land  may  be  so  low  as  to  retain  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year  a  degree  of  moisture  which  exists 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  cran- 
berry vine.     On  other  parts  of  it  the  hills  or  slight 
elevations  may  be  too  dry  and  arid.     In  this  case, 
those  mounds  must  be  removed  and  the  land  brought 
to  the  level  of  that  situation  WT  '  "b.  is  moist. 

5.  Should  you  possess  land  which  is  in  every  way 
adapted  to  grow  the  cranberry,  but  is  liable  to  be  over- 
flowed with  salt  water,  and  you  are  desirous  of  turning 
that  land  to  account  by  cultivating  the  vine,  the  first 


4:8  CRANBERRY  PATCH. 

step  to  be  taken  is,  to  devise  some  plan  by  which  the 
salt  water  can  be  driven  back  and  effectually  prevented 
from  again  overflowing  it.  This  is  done  by  making  a 
dyke.  The  land  thus  redeemed  must  be  prepared  by 
taking  off  the  sward  or  covering  it  over  with  beach 
sand.  It  is  not  safe  to  plant  on  land  of  this  descrip- 
tion immediately  after  it  has  been  redeemed.  It  is 
necessary  to  let  the  land  lie  exposed  to  the  rains  and 
atmosphere  a  sufficient  length  of  time,  in  order  to  get 
"  freshened."  When  the  salt  has  been  taken  out  of  it, 
by  exposure  to  the  weather,  then  it  is  safe  to  plant. 

This  chapter  might  be  extended  to  a  length  which 
our  limits  will  not  allow,  by  describing  how  patches 
are  made  according  to  the  location  chosen.  So  we  will 
conclude,  by  saying  no  cranberry  yard  is  completed 
until  it  is  fenced  in  such  a  manner  as  to  keep  out  the 
cattle. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

PLANTINGS    VINES. 

TIME  FOE  EEMOVING  THE  YINES — BEST  TIME  FOR  PLANTING — 
METHODS  OF  PLANTING — SOD  PLANTING — OBJECTIONS  TO—- 
SEPARATION OF  SOD  YINES — How  TO  PLACE  THE  BOOTS  AND  THB 
RUNNERS — METHODS  OF  CUTTING  AND  PLANTING — BROADCAST 
METHOD — PROPAGATION  FROM  THE  SEED  IN  THE  BERRY — 
METHODS  OF — OBJECTIONS  TO. 

THE  cranberry  vine  can  be  removed  from  the  soil 
in  which  it  has  been  cultivated,  or  from  its  native 
swamp,  either  in  the  spring  or  fall  of  the  year.  If  the 
vine  is  taken  up  and  left  exposed  to  the  winter  weather 
it  is  almost  sure  of  being  killed,  and  therefore  no  one 
to  whom  this  fact  is  known  would  do  so.  The  vine 
can  be  removed  from  the  soil  and  left  without  earth 
through  the  winter  under  some  circumstances.  If 
they  are  taken  up  in  the  fall  and  left  in  a  moist  cellar 
until  spring,  they  will,  when  planted,  take  root  and 
do  well.  "I  would  as  soon  have  vines  left  in  my 
cellar  through  the  winter,  for  spring  planting,  as  I 

3  (49) 


50  PLANTING   VINES. 

would  have  those  fresh  from  the  yard  or  the  swamp."* 
Experiment  has  proved  that  the  vine  can  be  treated 
according  to  the  latter  method  without  detriment  to 
itself.  It  will,  therefore,  be  evident  that  the  vine  can 
be  taken  up  and  have  all  the  soil  taken  from  its  roots, 
be  packed  in  barrels,  and  forwarded  to  any  part  of  the 
country,  without  being  injured 

It  is  admitted  by  most  cultivators  of  the  cranberry 
that  in  the  absence  of  ability  to  "  flood  the  patch"  in 
the  winter,  that  it  is  better  to  plant  in  the  spring  than 
the  fall,  because  those  vines  set  out  in  the  fall,  which 
are  not  " flowed,"  will  get  frozen,  and  when  the  frost  is 
thawed  out,  it  will  throw  the  young  plants  up  and  out 
of  the  soil.  In  circumstances  like  these,  spring  plant- 
ing is  the  best. 

Those  who  determine  upon  this  season  instead  of 
the  fall  for  setting  out,  will,  of  course,  not  remove 
their  vines  until  they  are  prepared  to  transplant.  May 
and  the  early  part  of  June,  for  spring  planting,  are 
believed  on  Cape  Cod  to  be  the  most  favorable 
months.  Should  you  determine  upon  either  one  of 
these  months,  which  you  may  do  with  perfect  assur- 
ance that  the  removal  will  not  injure  your  vines,  you 
will,  therefore,  defer  their  removal  until  you  are  ready 
to  give  them  a  place  in  your  newly-prepared  situation, 

*  Aaron  Crowell,  Esq. 


PLANTING  VINES.  51 

In  other  words,  do  not  remove  your  vines  until  you 
can  plant  them.  Though  vines  may  be  taken  up  and 
kept  from  the  soil  for  three  or  four  months  in  a  moist 
and  warm  situation,  yet  all  cultivators  prefer  the 
former  method  or  time  of  removal. 

There  are  two  or  three  advantages  connected  with 
spring  planting,  which  we  will  name,  which  he  who 
sets  out  his  vines  in  the  fall  cannot  possibly  have. 

If  in  the  spring  you  intend  to  plant,  you  have  the 
winter  before  you  for  preparation.  You  may  proba- 
bly with  your  own  labor  and  a  little  assistance  be  able 
to  make  as  much  as  you  think  it  best  to  plant.  You 
have  more  time  on  your  hands,  and  therefore  you  can 
afford  to  do  your  work  better  and  thoroughly.  To  get 
ready  for  fall  planting,  you  have  to  hurry  everything, 
and  consequently  your  work  is  likely  to  be  slighted. 
In  making  your  patch  in  the  winter,  you  can  study 
the  characteristics  of  the  location,  and  learn  to  what 
depth  and  extent  it  is  liable  to  be  flowed,  and  whether 
it  is  flowed  from  natural  springs  or  water  that  is  carried 
into  it  from  other  sources. 

Having  called  your  attention  to  the  time  of  re 
moving  and  planting  vines,  we  will  present  to  the 
reader  the  various  methods  of  planting,  and  specify 
those  modes  which  are  preferred.  It  must  not  be  sup 
posed  that  there  is  one  uniform  plan  of  treating  the 
vine.  The  cultivation  of  this  plant  is  but  in  its  infancy, 


52  PLANTING  VINES. 

and  consequently  growers  will  continue  to  make  trials 
and  experiments,  until  they  acquire  a  knowledge  of  a 
method  which  to  them  is  satisfactory.  Various 
methods  have  been  adopted  and  pursued  with  differ- 
ent degrees  of  success,  which  we  will  now  mention : 
(See  Plate  No.  6.) 

1.  SOD  PLANTING. — This  is  the  oldest  plan.  It  waa 
customary  in  the  early  days  of  cranberry  culture  to 
cut  out  a  square  or  oblong  sod  on  which  the  vine  was 
growing,  and  then  to  prepare  the  yard  to  receive  it 
just  as  it  was  taken  up.  It  was  thought  that  this  plan 
was  the  best,  because  the  vine  did  not  suffer  by  such  a 
removal.  But  experience  has  taught  cultivators  that 
this  is  not  the  best  mode.  There  is  this  forcible  objec- 
tion lying  against  it.  In  removing  the  sod,  rank  weeds 
and  foul  grasses  are  brought  with  it,  and  it  has  been 
proved  that  these  grasses  and  weeds  retard  the  matting 
process  of  the  vine,  and  the  yard  becomes  one  of 
weeds  and  wild  grasses  rather  than  of  healthy  cran- 
berry plants.  If  you  plant  on  the  Sod  System,  it  will 
entail  much  labor  upon  you;  for  even  if  you  determine 
upon  keeping  down  this  wild  stuff,  you  will  find  the 
difficulty  to  be  greater  than  you  anticipated. 

"We  may  safely  advise  the  intending  cultivator  to 
guard  against  the  method  which  has  just  been  de- 
scribed. Another  plan  is, 


O 
C/5 


PLANTING  VINES.  53 

2.  THE  SEPARATION  OF   SOD  VINES. — A  method 
which  is  far  superior  to  the  former. 

On  obtaining  the  sod,  and  before  planting,  you  take 
the  sod  on  which  the  vine  is  growing,  examine  it 
closely,  then  place  your  fingers  beneath  or  among  the 
roots  and  tear  them  out  as  carefully  as  you  can. 
"When  this  is  done,  separate  the  vine  into  as  many  as 
you  can  conveniently,  but  be  careful  to  leave  two  or 
three  small  spears  or  runners  on  the  roots.  When  you 
plant,  place  the  roots  in  the  soil  first,  then  spread  out 
the  spears  or  runners,  and  bury  them  in  the  soil,  but 
being  careful  to  leave  out  of  the  earth  the  ends  or  tips 
of  those  spears  or  runners. 

The  reason  for  this  method  is,  that  from  those  parts 
of  the  spears  or  runners  which  are  buried  in  the  soil 
will  start  new  roots,  and  each  root  will  be  a  new  vine, 
and  instead  of  only  having  one  root  from  which  the 
vine  may  start,  you  have  two,  or  a  half  dozen,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  spears  on  the  vine  you  plant. 
This  is  a  favorite  method  among  the  most  successful 
growers  of  the  cranberry. 

A  patch  planted  on  this  system  matts  rapidly,  and 
has  rarely  been  known  to  fail.  It  is  about  the  best 
method  now  known;  you  may  follow  it  with  safety: 
(See  Plate  No.  7.) 

3.  CUTTING  PLANTING. — In  pursuing  this  method 


54  PLANTING  VINES. 

when  the  vine  is  obtained,  it  is  cut  up  into  convenient 
lengths,  say  from  four  to  six  inches.  One  of  these 
cuttings  is  taken,  but  not  planted  with  the  end  down 
and  one  end  out  of  the  soil ;  it  is  planted  in  the  middle 
of  the  cutting,  leaving  up  both  ends,  so  that  when  it 
takes  root,  instead  of  there  being  but  one  runner,  there 
will  be  two.  This  is  a  good  and  safe  method. — (See 
Plate  ISTo.  8.) 

4.  CUTTING  PLANTING  may  be  continued  in  another 
form,  take  two  or  three  slips  or  cuttings,  about  three 
or  four  inches  long,  and  force  the  lower  ends  into  the 
soil  with  a  dibble ;  each  slip  will  take  root  and  form  a 
vine.     This  has  been  tried  with  success,  and  in  some 
parts  of  the  country  it  is  a  popular  method. 

5.  BROADCAST    PLANTING. — When  the  vines    are 
secured  in  sufficient  quantities,  they  may  be  cut  about 
two  inches  in  length  by  a  common  hay  cutter.    When 
the  patch  is  prepared  to  receive  them,  they  may  be 
scattered  over  the  surface  as  is  wheat  or  oats,  and  then 
well  harrowed  into  the  soil.     The  cuttings  will  take 
root  from  the  base  of  the  leaves,  and  will  soon  spring 
up  and  present  the  appearance  of  young  and  healthy 
vines.     Some  prefer  to  bury  these  cuttings  in  drills. 
But  it  is  mere  matter  of  opinion  as  to  which  plan  is 
the  best. 


A.  Surface  of  Soil, 

B.  Out  portions  of  Vines. 

C.  New  Hoot  s  growing  from 
Base  of  Leaves. 


UPRIGHT   CUTTING    PLANTING. 
s. 


PLANTING   VINES.  55 

6.  PROPAGATION  FROM  SEEDS. — If  the  seeds  of 
the  cranberry  are  sown,  they  are  not  always  certain 
of  coming  up.  The  situation  may  be  too  cold  for 
them,  and  the  seed  is  destroyed.  Seed  is  often  tried, 
and  will  send  up  a  small  fine  spear,  but  generally  is 
killed  after  the  first  year.  We  have  heard  it  stated 
by  several  cultivators  that  the  seed  may,  under  some 
circumstances,  be  used,  and  in  the  third  year  the  vines 
raised  from  them  would  bear  small  quantities  of  fruit. 

The  best  situations  in  which  to  sow  the  seed  of  the 
cranberry  are  the  edges  of  fresh  meadow  land  ;  such 
places  are  generally  protected,  and  they  seem  favor 
able,  or  rather  the  most  favorable  situations  for  propa- 
gation from  seed  that  are  known. 

Some  persons  who  have  tried  this  experiment  have 
put  into  the  soil  the  whole  berry;  few  have  been  found 
to  come  up,  the  seeds  have  rotted.  We  tried  another 
plan,  which  was  as  follows:  we  obtained  the  berry 
and  then  broke  it  in  water.  The  seeds  separated  from 
the  berry ;  these  we  collected  and  sowed  in  the  patch 
prepared  for  them,  and  found  them  to  do  better  than 
any  other  method.  But  raising  vines  from  seed  is  un- 
certain, hazardous,  and  if  you  succeed,  you  have  a 
long  time  to  wait  for  the  fruit.*  We  would  not 
advise  seed  planting ;  from  vines  and  cuttings  the  best 
patches  are  formed. 

*  Asa  Shiverick,  Esq.  -  Joseph  Hall,  Esq. 


56  PLANTING  VINES. 

7.  DISTANCES  OF  PLANTING. — This  is  wholly  regu« 
zated  by  the  quantity  of  vines  you  have  at  your  com- 
mand, and  the  extent  of  land  to  be  covered.  Some 
will  plant  them  three  feet  apart.  In  this  case,  it  must 
take  them  a  long  time  to  mat.  Some  plant  them 
eighteen  inches  apart,  which  of  course  is  better  than 
the  former  plan,  because  they  will  be  matted  all  the 
sooner.  The  rule  is,  the  nearer  you  can  plant  your 
vines  the  better,  providing  your  patch  is  not  overrun 
with  weeds  and  foul  grass.  The  object  in  such  a 
case  of  planting  them  wider  apart  would  be  to  give 
the  cultivator  an  opportunity  of  getting  between  the 
vines  and  destroying  the  weeds,  and  whatever  else 
might  be  likely  to  choke  them. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

TREATMENT   OF   YOUNQ  VINES. 

WEEDING — HOEING — FLOODING. 

WHEN  the  vines  have  been  planted,  their  develop- 
ment depends  much  upon  the  treatment  they  receive 
from  the  cultivator.  If  they  are  neglected,  or  not 
noticed,  they  will  have  to  contend  against  wild  grass 
and  foul  weeds,  so  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  them  to 
be  very  thrifty. 

If  the  patch  which  is  but  moderately  cared  for  is  com- 
pared in  appearance,  condition,  and  fruitfulness  with 
the  one  that  is  neglected,  the  advantage  will  be  found 
to  be  with  the  former,  over  the  latter.  Cranberries  do 
not  need  that  amount  of  labor  bestowed  upon  them 
which  is  given  to  the  cultivation  of  corn ;  but  never- 
theless, they  must  be  watched  and  attended  to,  in  order 
to  be  saved. 

In  patches  of  land  converted  to  cranberry  cultiva- 
tion in  which  there  is  an  abundance  of  weed,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  destroy  it,  or  keep  it  down  in  such  a 
way  that  the  young  vine  may  have  few  obstacles 

3*  (57) 


58  TREATMENT  OF  YOUNG  VINES. 

to  its  spreading  and  matting.  In  some  regions  of 
country  this  is  done  by  walking  over  the  patch  a 
short  time  after  planting,  and  if  the  wiry  grass  has 
made  its  appearance,  pulling  it  up.  If  this  stuff  is  kept 
down  and  out  of  the  way,  in  the  first  year  the  vines 
will  give  encouragement  to  the  cultivator.  In  manag- 
ing the  young  vines,  it  is  deemed  necessary  to  attend 
to  them  in  this  way  for  the  first  three  years,  when 
after  that  period  they  require  less  attention  and  labor; 
but  it  will  always  be  well  to  do  a  little  every  year  by 
way  of  keeping  down  any  foul  stuff  which  may  have 
made  its  appearance. 

In  some  localities,  it  is  customary  to  go  over  the 
patch  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  and  to  pull  up  any 
briers,  or  the  roots  of  wild  grass  which  may  be  met  with. 
In  well-established  yards  more  labor  than  this  is  sel- 
dom called  for.  For  a  large  yard  a  day  is  sufficient. 

Hoeing  is  resorted  to  by  some  cultivators.  Where 
the  vines  are  planted  two  feet  apart  this  is  necessary, 
or  may  be  resorted  to  with  safety  for  the  first  two  years. 
In  that  time,  the  heavy  or  thick  tufts  of  weed  can 
be  killed,  and  the  soil,  thus  lightened,  will  prove 
a  benefit  to  the  vines,  as  it  is  thereby  rendered  more 
porous.  After  that  period  it  will  be  hazardous  to  hoe, 
as  it  can  hardly  be  done  without  cutting  and  destroy- 
ing some  of  the  vines.  Should  the  weeds  threaten  to 
become  troublesome  after  this,  they  can  be  removed  by 


TREATMENT   OF  YOUNG  VINES.  59 

pulling  them  up  with,  the  hand,  after  having  loosened 
them  with  a  fork.  But  generally  after  the  second  or 
third  years'  careful  cultivation,  the  vines  will  take 
care  of  themselves  and  will  eat  out  weeds  and  grass, 
and  thus  leave  but  little  to  be  done  by  the  grower. 

On  uplands,  where  the  vines  are  planted,  the  way  in 
which  they  are  treated  in  order  to  make  them  do  well 
is  to  hoe  them,  and  that  as  frequently  as  you  can.  In 
this  case,  it  is  usual  to  plant  in  hills,  and  keep  a  space 
unoccupied  between  the  hills,  so  that  in  hoeing,  there 
will  be  no  runners  cut  or  destroyed.  But  the  object 
of  hoeing  on  uplands  is  more  with  the  view  of  making 
the  soil  light  and  porous,  so  that  moisture  will  the  more 
readily  be  taken  in  and  received  by  the  roots. 

FLOODING. — In  fall  planting,  it  is  always  best  to  flood. 
And  where  the  vines  can  effectually  be  covered  with 
two  or  three  feet  of  water,  they  are  not  likely  to  suffer. 
The  depth  of  water  which  covers  them  prevents  them 
from  being  frozen,  so  that  when  the  thaw  sets  in,  the 
vines  retain  the  situation  in  which  they  were  planted. 
This  water  should  be  drawn  off  in  the  middle  or  latter 
end  of  May.  But  if  frost  continues,  it  is  not  well  to 
drain  it  off  until  it  disappears,  for  by  keeping  the  vines 
flowed  it  prevents  them  from  blossoming,  so  that  there 
will  be  no  danger  of  the  flowers  being  destroyed  by 
frost.  Though  the  vine  is  a  hardy  plant,  yet  its  blos- 
soms, and  berries  are  very  sensitive,  and  are  soon 


60  TREATMENT  OF  YOUNG  VINES. 

injured  by  the  frost,  early  or  late.  In  managing  the 
vines,  the  cultivator  will  have  to  be  guided  by  the 
condition  of  his  yard  whether  it  is  weedy  or  other- 
wise, dry,  or  too  moist,  and  the  nature  of  the  climate 
in  which  his  patch  is  situated. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

BLOSSOMINQ  TIME — PRECAUTIONS 
REQUIRED. 

IN  the  winter,  the  cranberry  vine  appears  of  a  dark 
brownish  green,  and  scarcely  looks  better  than  the 
poverty  grass  which  abounds  in  sandy  regions.  In 
the  spring,  it  begins  to  lose  that  peculiar  color,  ex- 
changing it  for  a  clear  dark  green.  Then  it  is  that 
the  uninitiated  in  the  culture  of  cranberries  begin  to 
anticipate  something  from  the  vines,  which  at  least 
will  be  pleasing  to  the  eye,  if  not  profitable  to  the 
purse.  The  blossom  of  the  cranberry  makes  its  ap- 
pearance in  the  latter  part  of  June,  and  sometimes  as 
late  as  the  first  of  July.  The  quantity  of  blossom 
depends  upon  the  quality  of  the  vines,  the  suitability 
of  location,  the  adaptation  of  soil,  and  the  season. 
From  the  appearance  of  the  vines  at  that  time,  the 
cranberry  grower  begins  to  form  some  idea  of  the 
crop  he  may  possibly  have. 

The  flower  of  the  cranberry  is  beautiful  and  deli- 
cately formed.  It  seems  as  though  it  would  be  sus- 
ceptible to  injury  from  trifling  causes.  Its  color  is 
that  of  a  very  pale  pink,  slightly  tinged  with  purple ; 

(61) 


62  BLOSSOMING  TIME — PRECAUTIONS. 

and  it  is  rarely  or  ever  found  on  the  runners,  but  in 
variably  on  the  spears  or  stems  which  are  thrown  up 
from  the  creepers. 

There  are  about  this  time  some  precautions  required ; 
but  they  are  more  needed  in  some  parts  of  the  country 
than  in  others. 

Districts  in  which  there  are  cranberry  yards,  which 
are  liable  to  be  visited  by  frost  late  in  the  spring,  call 
for  especial  .care  from  the  cultivator.  If  his  vines 
blossom  too  soon,  they  will  most  probably  be  killed 
by  the  frost,  or  at  most  he  will  have  but  a  scanty  crop. 
The  vines  may,  in  the  blossoming  season,  present  an 
abundance  of  flowers,  and  a  night  of  frost  cut  them 
off.  In  other  regions  where  they  are  not  so  likely  to 
suffer  from  this  cause,  the  same  precautions  are  not 
demanded. 

Here,  and  in  cases  of  the  kind  just  named,  the  ad- 
vantage of  flooding  is  apparent.  Those  who  can  flood 
their  vines,  can  retard  the  blossom,  or  keep  it  back 
until  they  think  their  vines  are  not  likely  to  suffer  by 
frost.  The  practice  generally  followed  is,  to  keep  the 
water  over  the  vines  till  the  last  of  May  or  middle  of 
June,  and  then  draw  it  off.  The  sooner  the  water  is 
drained  from  the  yard,  the  vines  will  blossom  all  the 
earlier  for  it;  but  that  would  be  no  advantage  when 
frost  has  not  entirely  disappeared  from  that  locality 


BLOSSOMING  TIME — PRECAUTIONS.  63 

To  keep  back  the  blossom,  nothing  more  is  required 
than  to  continue  the  water  over  the  vines. 

Flooding  is  not  of  so  much  importance  and  value  in 
those  regions  where  the  frost  soon  or  early  in  the 
spring  disappears,  as  it  is  in  those  parts  of  the  country 
where  it  continues  up  to  the  last  of  June. 

[NOTE — Vines  which  are  "flooded"  during  the 
winter,  when  the  water  is  drawn  off  from  them  are 
tender,  and  the  blossom  which  such  vines  put  out 
is  sooner  injured  than  that  which  appears  on  the  un- 
flooded  vines.] 


CHAPTER  X. 

DISEASES  OF  THE  CRANBERRY. 

THE  WORM— Two  KINDS— ONE  ATTACKS  THE  YINE  AND  THE  OTHER 
THE  FBUIT — FIRE  BLIGHT — ROT — BEST  REMEDY  FOR  THE  WORM 

LIKE  every  other  plant  or  fruit-vine,  the  cranberry 
is  subject  to  certain  drawbacks,  arising  from  causes 
which  we  shall  endeavor  to  enumerate. 

1.  There  is  the  worm.  We  have  not  seen  it,  and 
have  only  met  with  one  grower  who  has,  and  he  de- 
scribes it  as  about  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  length.*  It 
has  been  sought  after  with  extreme  care  and  diligence. 
Its  presence  seems  only  to  be  known  by  the  devas- 
tations it  commits.  And  so  great  are  they,  that  in  a 
night,  vines  which  seemed  doing  well  are  rendered 
sickly,  and  the  crop  is  cut  off.  Not  having  seen  this 
enemy  to  the  vine,  and  being  unable  to  ascertain,  even 
from  those  who  had  suffered  much  by  them,  we  are 
therefore  unable  to  identify  it  with  any  insect  which 
visits  other  fruits  and  destroys  them.  (See  Plate,  No.  9.) 

This    insect    attacks  the  vine  in  a  very  peculiar 

*  Thomas  Shiverick,  Esq. 

(M) 


A.  Healthy  Leave*. 

B.  Diseased  Leave*. 

C.  Webbing. 


APPEARANCE  OF  VINE  DISEASED, 
9       • 


DISEASES  OF  THE   CRANBERRY.  65 

manner.  The  vine  of  last  year  will  have  started 
spears  or  uprights,  in  that  season  those  spears  have 
not  attained  their  growth.  In  the  following  spring 
they  will  become  taller,  and  the  new  growth  will  be 
perceptible  by  the  contrast.  The  former  year's  growth 
has  a  dark  hue,  and  stronger  stem ;  the  new  growth 
is  thinner,  green  in  appearance,  and  altogether  more 
delicate.  "The  worm  begins  its  ravages  from  the 
point  that  the  new  growth  has  started.  It  does  not 
descend  down  the  old  growth,  but  from  the  base  of 
the  new  spring  growth  it  begins  its,  operations,  work- 
ing upward."*  This  insect  comes  in  swarms.  It 
alights  on  the  leaves,  and  extracts  the  moisture. 
There  seems  to  be  in  the  vine  or  young  leaf  a  juice 
which  by  them  is  sought  after.  When  it  is  present  it 
is  known  by  the  vine  being  webbed  up  and  appearing 
as  though  it  was  suffering  from  the  fire  blight. 

At  the  period  when  these  attacks  are  made,  there  is 
some  degree  of  certainty.  It  is  most  frequently  im- 
mediately after  blossoming  time,  and  their  ravages  are 
often  fatal  to  the  crop  of  that  yard  which  they  visit. 
There  is  something  singular  about  the  plan  upon 
which  they  act,  but  as  it  is  new,  we  must  describe  that 
action,  leaving  the  ascertaining  of  the  cause  thereof  to 
further  research  and  more  experience.  We  are  fami- 
liar with  the  situation  of  a  large  pond  which  is  bordered 
*  Howes  Chapman,  Esq.  Joshua  C.  Howes,  Esq. 


66  DISEASES   OF   THE   CRANBERRY. 

by  beautiful  cranberry  patches.  It  was  there  that 
in  the  last  season  this  insect  made  its  appearance.  It 
attacked  certain  patches  and  left  the  adjoining  ones 
untouched.  The  reason  for  this  has  not  yet  been 
given,  extended  study  of  the  subject  may  enable  us  in 
some  measure  to  account  for  this. 

2.  THE  FRUIT  WORM. — This  is  different  from  the 
insect  we  last  referred  to,  it  is  named  the  cranberry 
worm.     It  is  something  like  the   apple  worm,   but 
smaller.    It  makes  its  appearance  about  the  latter  part 
of  July  or  the  beginning  of  August.     In  its  attack 
upon  the  berry  it  eats  its  way  through  the  exterior 
skin,  and  then  enters  the  interior  of  the  fruit,  which 
after  that  is  of  no  value  to  the  producer.     This  cran- 
berry worm,  is  one  of  the  greatest  enemies  that  the  cul- 
tivator has  to  contend  against. 

3.  THE  ROT. — This  is  not  so  common  as  either  of 
the  other  enemies  of  the  cranberry,  to  which  we  have 
alluded,  yet  the  rot  appears  in  some  yards,  and  sweeps 
off  the  crop  from  that  particular  locality  it  visits. 

"We  have  visited  a  yard,  which  in  former  years  was 
a  shallow  pond.  The  owner  had  it  filled  in  and  level- 
led off.  On  this,  he  planted  the  vines ;  they  did  remark- 
ably well,  were  soon  matted,  and  seemed  to  be  thrifty. 
The  vines  put  out  great  quantities  of  blossom,  and  the 
"fruit  began  to  form.  The  cultivator  noticed  that  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  yard  the  berry  rotted,  and  this, 


DISEASES  OF  THE  CRANBERRY.  67 

year  after  year  was  the  case.  The  upper  part  of  the 
yard  remained  untouched.  To  account  for  this  it  is 
difficult,  but  we  will  give  the  opinion  of  the  proprietor 
of  this  patch  and  of  another  experienced  cultivator,*  and 
leave  the  reader  to  draw  his  own  conclusions.  That 
part  of  the  yard  in  which  the  berry  rots  is  a  little  lower 
than  any  other  portion.  It  is  supposed  by  the  owner 
to  be  too  wet,  and  that  this  is  the  cause  of  the  rot. 

The  vines  on  this  patch  are  exceedingly  well  matted, 
they  are  thick,  and  it  is  supposed  that  in  consequence 
ef  this,  the  sun  cannot  fairly  shine  upon  them,  and 
hence  the  rot. 

If  it  is  the  first,  then,  the  remedy  is  to  raise  the  soil, 
and  bring  it  to  the  level  of  that  part  of  the  yard  in 
which  the  cranberry  does  not  rot ;  or,  if  it  is  the  second, 
there  is  nothing  more  required  than  to  thin  out  the 
vines,  so  that  the  sun  may  shine  fully  upon  them.  Is 
there  any  remedy  for  the  worm  ?  No  remedy  has  yet 
been  discovered  for  that  insect  which  attacks  the  vine 
and  the  young  spears  of  the  plant,  should  it  reappear 
in  yards  that  it  has  already  visited,  doubtless  the  pro- 
prietors will  try  some  experiments  which  we  trust  will 
be  successful. 

To  meet  the  case  of  the  cranberry  worm,  flooding  is 
resorted  to.  It  is  well  known,  that  those  yards  which 

*  Joseph  Hall,  Esq.    Thomas  Hall,  Esq. 


03  DISEASES  OF  THE  CRANBERRY. 

can  be  flowed,  are  not  so  likely  to  be  attacked  by  this 
worm  as  those  which,  are  not  covered  with  water  during 
the  winter.  The  conclusion  thus  arrived  at  is,  that 
flooding  is  a  partial  remedy  for  this  enemy  to  the  cran- 
berry. Hence,  those  who  are  constructing  a  yard,  will 
if  convenient  endeavor  to  secure  this  advantage,  if  it 
does  nothing  more  than  aid  in  keeping  down  the  cran- 
berry worm. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

CRANBERRY  PICKINO  TIME. 

DIFFERENT  METHODS  OF  PICKING — BAKING — PACKING. 

THE  cranberry  is  rarely  ripe  until  the  beginning  or 
middle  of  October.  At  that  time  the  cultivators 
begin  to  pick  the  fruit  and  get  it  ready  for  market. 
There  are  two  methods  of  picking.  The  first  is  by 
hand.  It  is  customary  in  some  regions  to  engage  chil- 
dren for  this  purpose,  who  are  paid  at  the  rate  of 
thirty  or  thirty-three  cents  per  bushel.  It  is  seldom 
that  the  best  or  quickest  pickers  gather  more  than  three 
bushels  during  one  day.  To  do  this  is  extraordinary 
work.  There  must  be  a  superintendent  or  overseer 
with  them,  or  they  will  be  apt  to  slight  them.  The 
interest  of  the  cultivator  is  to  have  his  vines  picked 
clean. 

The  second  method  is  by  raking.  This  cannot  be 
adopted  in  cranberry  yards  where  the  vines  have 
become  matted.  To  attempt  it  would  be  folly,  because 
the  teeth  of  the  rake  would  tear  up  the  vines  and 
runners,  and  do  them  a  serious  injury. 

Those  yards  in  which  the  rake  is  used  from  the  first 

(69) 


70  CRANBERRY  PICKING  TIME. 

year  of  gathering  the  berry,  has  been  the  plan  adopt- 
ed. The  rake  has  pulled  the  vines  in  one  direction, 
and  it  is  always  in  the  direction  in  which  they  lie  that 
they  are  raked  from  year  to  year.  Where  this  plan 
is  followed,  it  is  not  likely  to  be  so  injurious  as  it 
would  be  in  the  previously  mentioned  case. 

The  packing  of  cranberries  is  of  some  importance. 
It  is  usual  to  spread  them  out  so  that  all  the  dew  or 
moisture  may  evaporate.  Then  they  are  winnowed  or 
picked  over.  The  rotting  or  defective  berries  are  re- 
moved, and  they  are  cleaned  over  in  such  a  manner 
that  leaves  and  straws  are  not  to  be  found  among 
them,  when  in  a  marketable  condition. 

If  the  market  to  which  they  are  to  be  forwarded  is 
not  very  distant,  they  are  packed  dry  in  barrels,  and 
thus  sent  off.  But  in  sending  them  to  Europe  or  Cali- 
fornia it  is  deemed  best  to  pack  them  in  water.  Small 
kegs  are  usually  secured  for  this  purpose.  When  they 
are  thus  treated,  the  good  ripe  cranberry  can  be  sent 
on  the  longest  voyage  without  being  injured. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  OREAT  CRANBERRY  MARKETS. 

BOSTON — NEW  YORK — PHILADELPHIA — INFLUENCE  OP  CLIMATE  on 
PRICES — BELATIVE  VALUE  OP  DIFFERENT  SPECIES  OP  CRAN- 
BERRIES— THE  INCREASE  IN  THE  CONSUMPTION  OF  CRANBERRIES. 

IN  the  immediate  neighborhoods  in  which  cran- 
berries are  cultivated,  but  few  are  consumed.  The 
reason  of  this  is,  people  living  at  a  distance  from  the 
place  in  which  they  are  ,raised  are  willing  to  pay  a 
higher  price  for  them.  Time  was  when  the  cranberry 
was  not  valued  more  than  the  common  barberry.  But 
people  have  lived  to  discover  its  excellent  qualities, 
and  since  it  is  so  highly  appreciated  for  its  culinary  pur- 
poses, there  are  those  who  are  willing  to  pay  an  almost 
fabulous  price  for  the  berry.  It  has  become  in  many 
families  a  necessary  luxury.  The  wealthy  would  as 
soon  part  with  the  apple  as  the  cranberry,  and  it  is 
the  rage  among  the  rich,  and  even  those  who  are 
not  so  fortunate,  for  this  fruit,  which  keeps  it  up 
to  that  price  which  puts  it  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
poor: 


72  THE  GREAT  CRANBERRY  MARKETS. 

Boston  is  the  great  market  for  cranberries.  It  ia 
nearest  to  those  regions  in  which  the  vine  is  cultivated, 
and  the  fruit-dealers,  knowing  how  much  it  is  sought 
after,  can,  by  the  course  they  have  recently  pursued, 
realize  handsome  profits  upon  what  they  purchase. 
Of  such  profit  is  the  cranberry,  that  growers  have 
been  visited  by  city  dealers  a  month  or  six  weeks 
before  the  berry  has  been  ready  to  pick.  They  have 
offered  a  price  which  was  deemed  handsome  by  the 
cultivator.  Some  took  them,  as  they  bid  for  the 
whole  crop,  and  others  refused.  Even  the  last  season, 
growers  received  from  ten  dollars  to  fifteen  dollars  per 
barrel.  This  has  been  obtained  in  the  Boston  market. 

The  New  York  market  is  said  to  be  good  for  the 
cranberry,  and  this  is  well  known  to  the  Boston  dealers 
who  ship  the  fruit  to  that  port  and  Philadelphia,  and 
the  other  great  cities  of  the  Union. 

The  consumption  of  the  cranberry  in  the  great 
cities  is  such  that  the  dealers  can  realize  their  own 
prices,  by  doing  as  they  did  last  fall,  buy  up  the  berry 
and  get  it  into  their  own  hands.  The  wealthy  will 
have  the  cranberry,  and  it  is  immaterial  to  them 
whether  they  pay  eight  or  twenty  dollars  per  barrel. 

The  American  cranberry  is  coming  into  notice  in 
many  parts  of  Europe,  but  more  especially  in  Eng- 
land. The  way  in  which  it  is  sold  there  is  in  small 
bottles,  into  which  the  fruit  is  first  put,  and  then  filled 


TCCfi  GREAT  CRANBERRY  MARKETS.  73 

w&tcr  and  hermetically  sealed.  These  are  sold  at 
a  hi^L.  pice.  "We  have  seen  a  pint  of  cranberries 
marked  "  Cape  Cod  Bell  Cranberry,"  sold  at  four  shil- 
lings sterling,  in  the  Strand,  London.  There  is  not 
the  slightest  doubt  that  as  the  American  cranberry  is 
superior  to  the  English  or  Eussian,  a  market  will  be 
found  for  it,  at  paying  prices,  in  almost  any  part  of  the 
civilized  world.  It  seems  to  us  that  the  American 
agriculturists  do  now  take  the  lead  in  the  cultivation  of 
this  fruit,  and  will  continue  to  do  so.  We  are  con- 
vinced from  what  we  know  of  this  country  that  if  our 
farmers  only  proceed  in  making  those  trials  and  experi- 
ments which  it  will  be  worth  their  while  to  do,  and 
bring  their  swamps,  ponds,  and  bogs  into  a  proper 
condition  to  receive  the  vine  (in  the  way  we  have  pre- 
viously pointed  out),  they  will  not  only  be  able  to 
supply  all  that  are  needed  for  home  consumption,  but 
foreign  demands  likewise.  But  let  not  any  one  sup- 
pose that  more  cranberries  are  now  raised  than  can  be 
disposed  of  at  paying  prices.  If  the  cultivation  of  the 
cranberry  proceeds  as  rapidly  as  we  hope  it  may,  all 
that  can  be  raised  will  find  a  market  in  the  country. 
The  influence  of  the  weather  upon  the  English 
grain  market  is  well  known.  How  dry.  or  wet  weather 
will  affect  prices  there  is  astonishing.  The  cranberry 
for  its  market  price  before  it  is  picked  is  somewhat 
dependent  upon  the  climate 
4 


74  THE   GREAT  CRANBERRY  MARKETS. 

If  there  has  been  a  frost  about  the  time  of  blossom- 
ing, then  that  circumstance  is  laid  hold  upon,  and  the 
cry  is  raised,  there  will  be  a  short  crop ;  or  should 
there  be  too  much  rain,  or  too  much  sunshine,  or  a 
frost  early  in  October,  all  are  equal  blessings  to  the 
great  dealers,  who  know  well  how  to  manage  this  part 
of  the  business  to  their  own  advantage. 

All  cranberries  are  not  of  equal  value.  Some  will 
not  keep  so  long  as  others,  neither  are  they  so  highly 
colored  or  flavored  as  the  best  varieties,  yet  the  poor- 
est berry  is  often  disposed  of  at  the  same  price  as  the 
best. 

There  are  cranberries  which  are  picked  before  they 
are  ripe  in  order  to  save  them  from  the  frost.  In  some 
parts  of  the  country  producers  do  this  to  save  them- 
selves, or  their  fruit  would  be  affected,  and  rot.  Cran- 
berries gathered  before  they  are  ripe  will  not  keep  so 
long  as  those  that  have  matured. 

Hundreds  of  bushels  are  taken  into  the  market  in 
this  condition,  and  they  are  afterwards  branded  and 
sold  as  a  superior  fruit,  realizing  just  as  much  as  the 
very  best. 

Those  cranberries  which  come  into  the  market  that 
have  lost  their  green  hue,  and  only  have  a  delicate 
flesh  color  must  be  used  within  a  few  months  or  they 
will  decay. 

Growers  of  cranberries  have  their  preferences  foi 


THE  GREAT  CRANBERRY  MARKETS.  75 

certain  varieties  of  fruit,  yet  it  is  strange  that  there 
should  be  a  difference  in  the  quality  of  this  berry,  and 
all  kinds  should  bear  a  uniform  price. 

The  Bugle  cranberry,  or  egg  shaped,  large  and 
small,  is  a  good  variety.  It  is  pale  in  color,  not  so 
deep  and  dark  a  crimson  as  some  other  varieties, 
neither  is  it  valued  so  highly  by  those  producers  who 
are  acquainted  with  the  qualities  of  the  Bell  or  Cherry. 

The  Cherry  is  round  and  large  ;  of  this  there  are  two 
varieties,  large  and  small.  It  is  hard,  its  color  dark 
almost  black  when  properly  cultivated.  See  Plate 
No.  10. 

The  Bell  is  the  favorite  of  some  of  the  most  exten- 
sive cultivators  of  the  cranberry.  It  is  a  large  variety, 
and  grows  in  some  parts  to  great  perfection. 

The  Southern  cranberry  will  ripen,  but  it  is  small 
and  light,  consequently  not  so  valuable. 

The  cranberry  grown  in  those  regions  of  country  in 
which  the  season  is  too  short  for  them,  cannot  be  so 
valuable  as  they  otherwise  would  be. 

The  cranberry  produced  on  Cape  Cod  attains  greater 
perfection  than  it  does  in  any  other  country  with 
which  we  are  acquainted.  It  is  larger :  it  is  deeper  in 
color ;  it  will  keep  better  than  any  other. 

The  "  Cape  Cod  BeU  Cranberry"  and  the  "  Cape 
Cod  Cherry"  now  take  the  lead,  and  must  continue  to 
do  so ;  and  we  think  that  the  time  will  come  when 


76  THE  GEEAT  CRANBERRY  MARKETS. 

these  varieties  must  command  a  higher  price  than  any 
other  that  will  be  offered  in  the  market.  The  climate 
and  soil  of  Cape  Cod  are  well  adapted  to  the  perfect 
development  of  the  cranberry,  and  these  natural  ad- 
vantages combined  with  the  experience  of  cultivators, 
gives  them  the  advantage  over  others. 

There  is  a  great  increase  in  the  consumption  of 
cranberries,  and  this  fact  should  encourage  those  who 
possess  lands,  of  the  kind  pointed  out  in  the  body  of 
this  manual,  to  make  an  effort  to  cultivate  the  vine. 
If  you  can  but  get  the  vine  into  a  favorable  situation, 
and  know  how  to  manage  it,  it  must  pay  you  for  the 
pains  taken  in  its  cultivation. 

The  cultivation  of  the  cranberry  is  but  in  its  infancy. 
Ten  years  more  of  hard  and  practical  experience  in  its 
management  will  do  much  to  establish  or  destroy  the 
theories  which  have  been  set  up  by  some  cultivators. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  OXYCOCCUS  PALUSTRIS,  OK,  UP- 
LAND CRANBERRY. 

SINCE  writing  the  previous  parts  of  this  manual,  I 
have  been  favored  with  communications  from  Professor 
Shepherd  of  the  "Western  Reserve  College,  Ohio,  and 
from  Mr.  Trowbridge  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  on  a 
recently  discovered  upland  cranberry,  and  also  with  a 
specimen  of  the  fruit  gathered  from  the  vine  in  its  un- 
cultivated condition. 

It  has  long  been  desired  to  adapt  the  lowland  or  bog 
cranberry  to  the  dry,  poor,  upland  soils.  Many  have 
made  the  attempt  to  do  so,  but  have  failed.  If  the 
variety  now  under  notice  is  what  it  purports  to  be,  I 
see  no  reason  why  it  cannot  be  appropriated  by  farmers 
who  possess  poor  land,  thereby  superseding  the  neces- 
sity of  wasting  efforts  on  attempts  to  naturalize  the 
swamp  vine  to  arid  uplands. 

Professor  Shepherd  found  the  upland  cranberry 
during  his  recent  explorations  around  Lake  Superior. 
It  was  growing  on  the  dryest  and  poorest  soils,  flourish- 
ing and  producing  an  abundance  of  fruit. 

(T7) 


78  UPLAND   CRANBERRY. 

The  fruit,  a  specimen  of  Vhich  I  now  hare  in  my 
possession,  is  much  smaller  than  the  lowland  cran- 
berry. It  resembles  an  ordinary  pea  in  size  and  shape. 
Its  color  is  of  a  beautiful  pale  red.  The  skin  is  bright 
and  glossy.  It  is  not  so  hard  a  fruit  as  the  swamp 
berry,  and  therefore  will  not  keep  so  long.  It  is  soft 
and  is  excellently  adapted  for  jellies  and  preserves. 
The  flavor  is  not  so  acetous  but  remarkably  pleasant 
and  agreeable.  If  the  fruit  becomes  known,  it  is  more 
than  probable  that  it  will  be  much  sought  after.  I 
have  seen  a  variety  much  resembling  this;  growing  on 
the  moors  and  barren  mountains  in  the  north-western 
parts  of  England.  The  inhabitants  of  those  regions 
seek  them  in  their  season  with  great  avidity,  prizing 
them  highly  for  their  rare  qualities. 

The  vines  on  which  they  are  found  resemble  some- 
what the  bog  cranberry,  and  they  usually  bear  well, 
It  is  seldom,  indeed,  tfyat  this  crop  is  cut  off,  for  they 
are  invariably  gathered,  being  ripe,  in  the  early  part  of 
September.  The  upland  cranberry  found  in  the  British 
Provinces  only  requires  to  be  known  in  order  to  be 
appreciated. 

The  question  arises,  can  it  be  cultivated  and  made 
to  subserve  the  purposes  of  the  agriculturist  ?  Can  it 
be  made  profitable  as  a  fruit?  Why  not?  If  the 
swamp  cranberry  has  been  cultivated  and  found  to  be 
of  great  value  to  those  who  have  taken  pains  to  grow 


UPLAND   CRANBERRY.  79 

them,  wliy  not  the  upland?  The  objections  which 
lie  against  the  latter,  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago  applied 
with  equal  force  against  the  former.  "What  is  now 
wanted  is  only  a  fair  trial  on  the  part  of  those  who 
take  any  interest  in  the  cultivation  of  cranberries. 
These  vines  must  be  experimented  with  and  tried  ;  and 
doubtless  Professor  Shepherd  feels  convinced  that  they 
will  be  highly  remunerative,  or  he  would  not  recom- 
mend them.  There  are  thousands  of  acres  of  land  in 
this  country  which  are  dry  and  parched,  and  seemingly 
unfit  for  the  development  of  vegetation,  but  if  future 
experience  in  connection  with  this  variety  should 
prove  them  to  be  of  value,  and  their  cultivation  prac- 
ticable, we  may  hope  to  see  these  now  useless  tracts 
occupied  and  made  of  use  to  the  farmer. 

Without  saying  anything  further,  I  call  the  atten- 
tion of  the  reader  to  Professor  Shepherd's  letter,  upon 
which  he  can  form  his  own  opinion,  and  also  to  the 
announcement  found  at  the  end  of  this  manual,  that 
Mr.  Trowbridge  has  made  arrangements  to  supply  this 
variety  of  vine  to  those  who  may  require  it. 


HAVEN,  Dec.  28,  1855. 
DEAR  SIR  :  —  As  Mr.  Trowbridge  is  about  to  forward 
to  you  a  specimen  of  the  Oxycoccus  Palustris,  or  Up- 
land Cranberry,  at  his  request  I  would  respectfully 
state  that  these  berries  are  such  as  I  have  seen  growing 


80  UPLAND   CRANBERRY. 

in  great  quantities  in  various  sections  of  British 
America,  particularly  on  the  Neepegon  coast  of  Lake 
Superior. 

The  plant  is  much  like  our  common  cranberry,  but 
more  vigorous,  covering  the  ground  entirely  with  a 
green  mat,  while  the  surface  is  flaming  red  with 
berries,  more  delicious  than  anything  of  the  kind  I 
have  ever  tasted. 

I  have  no  doubt  the  plants  may  be  propagated  to 
great  advantage  on  poor,  cold,  sterile  lands  of  a  north- 
ern exposure  in  all   the  United   States.    But  they 
should  not  be  put  in  marsh  or  bogs. 
Bespectfully  yours, 

FOREST  SHEPHERD, 

Prof.  Jig.  Chcm.,  Western  Reserve  Coll.,  Ohio. 


JL.ETTER   I. 

KEY.  B.  EASTWOOD  : — Your  letter,  asking  questions 
in  regard  to  planting  and  raising  cranberries,  is  now 
before  me,  and  should  have  had  an  earlier  reply  but 
for  my  absence  from  home. 

1.  The  location  I  chose  was  peat  swamp,  thickly 
grown  with  what  are  called  whortleberry  bushes,  and 
other  wild  shrubs.    I  cleared  the  bushes  and  turf  clean 
to  the  peat.    If  any  turf  is  left,  rushes  and  other  wild 
stuff  will  get  in.     Planted  the  vines  in  the  fall.    If 
planted  in  the  spring  on  peat  they  would  suffer  from 
the  drought  of  summer,  and  very  likely  many  of  them 
would  die.     Peat  bottom  is  very  wet  and  muddy  in 
the  spring,  and  bad  for  setting  the  vines ;  while  in  the 
fall  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  dry,  and  the  process 
is  performed  comparatively  easy. 

2.  I  flood  mine,  otherwise  they  would  be  very  likely 
to  be  thrown  out  of  the  ground  by  the  frost,  particu- 

(81) 


82  CORRESPONDENCE. 

larly  the  first  year,  and  perhaps  the  second.  A  friend 
of  mine  cleared  a  peat  swamp  the  same  year  I  did,  but 
could  not  flow  it  in  consequence  of  its  location,  the 
whole  of  his  vines  were  thrown  out,  and  had,  of  course, 
to  be  reset  in  the  spring.  Last  year,  the  heavy  fall 
rains  flooded  it,  and  they  have  since  done  first  rate. 

I  prefer  fall  planting,  particularly  on  peat,  as  the 
flooding  in  winter  settles  the  soil  round  the  roots ;  and 
in  spring  as  soon  as  the  water  is  let  off,  say  about  the 
middle  of  April,  the  vines  set  at  once  to  growing  rap- 
idly ;  very  much  faster,  and  come  into  bearing  sooner 
on  peat  bottom  than  any  other. 

I  set  my  vines  in  the  fall,  say  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember. The  following  autumn  I  only  had  a  bushel 
or  two ;  the  next  year,  about  twelve  bushels ;  and  last, 
the  third  year,  seventy-three  bushels  of  the  very  finest 
quality  of  fruit,  and  I  look  for  a  large  increase  the  next 
year.  It  cost  me,  I  think,  to  clear  my  swamp  (about 
one  acre  and  a  half),  including  the  cost  and  setting  of 
vines,  about  three  hundred  dollars,  then  the  turf  that 
was  taken  off  I  consider  worth  half  the  money  for 
manure.  Eespectfully,  your  ob't  serv't, 

C.  HALL. 

[NOTE. — This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  yards  we 
have  seen.  Before  Mr.  Hall  appropriated  it  to  the  culti- 
vation of  cranberries,  it  was  a  useless,  worthless  swamp. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  83 

We  call  the  reader's  attention  to  the  cost  of  this  yard, 
and  the  returns  which  Mr.  Hall  had  from  it  from  the 
first  to  the  third  year.  Setting  the  third  year's  yield 
at  three  dollars  per  bushel,  which  was  a  very  low  price 
indeed  for  cranberries  this  fall,  it  gave  him  two  hun- 
dred and  nineteen  dollars,  equalling  within  eighty-one 
dollars  the  original  cost  of  the  yard,  allowing  it, to 
have  been  three  hundred  dollars.  (See  plate  No.  10.) 


LETTER   II. 

DEAR  SIR  : — Yours  of  the  1st  inst.  has  this  moment 
been  received,  and  in  reply  I  would  say : 

1.  My  cranberries  are  grown  on  a  soil  of  peat  muck 
and  loose  beach  sand  (not  common  earth),  which  I  am 
convinced  is  the  element  for  cranberries  to  grow  in. 

2.  I  plant  my  cranberries  in  hills  eighteen  inches 
apart,  by  making  a  hole  in  the  ground  about  three 
inches  in  diameter,  and  of  sufficient  depth  to  receive 
the  roots  of  the  plants ;  then,  after  placing  the  vines 
in  their  places,  I  am  careful  to  have  them  opened,  and 
the  soil  placed  in  such  a  manner  so  as  to  spread  the 
hills  all  around  to  the  sides  of  the  hole  that  is  made 
to  receive  them,  so  that  the  hills  after  they  are  set 
resemble  a  saucer  placed  in  the  ground  and  partly 


84:  CORRESPONDENCE. 

filled  with  earth.  If  they  are  set  in  a  bunch  in  the 
middle  of  the  hole,  and  the  soil  placed  or  filled  in  close 
around  them,  it  keeps  them  too  close  or  compact  to  do 
well. 

3.  My  cranberries  that  I  depend  on  are  surrounded 
by  wood  and  brush,  so  that  they  are  not  exposed  to 
winds  and  are  warm ;  such  a  situation,  I  think,  is  much 
to  be  preferred  to  one  that  is  cold  and  bleak. 

4.  I  flood  my  premises  at  the  time  the  worm  makes 
its  appearance,  and  no  other  time. 

Yours  in  great  haste, 

CYRUS  GABOON. 
December  Sd,  1855. 


LETTER  IH. 

DEAR  SIR: — In  reply  to  your  inquiry  regarding 
my  success  in  cultivating  a  certain  piece  of  cranberry 
ground,  which  I  have  selected  near  the  sea-shore  and 
by  a  sandy  pond,  where  the  tide  had  in  previous  years 
flooded  it  with  salt  water  during  heavy  storms,  I 
would  say :  I  commenced  stopping  out  the  water  by 
throwing  up  dikes ;  after  which  I  planted  a  few  vines 
near  the  pond.  The  next  summer  the  vines  most  of 


CORRESPONDENCE.  85 

them  died,  the  ground  being  too  salt  for  them  to  thrive. 
In  two  or  three  years,  however,  they  sprang  up  and 
spread  their  runners  in  every  direction. 

In  1851 1  commenced  carting  sand,  making  as  much 
land  in  the  pond  as  out,  leaving  the  land  on  the  in- 
cline towards  it.  I  then  planted  the  vines  three  feet 
.apart,  in  hills,  in  the  spring  of  the  year.  The  first 
season  I  got  but  little  fruit ;  the  second,  four  bushels  ; 
the  third,  seventeen;  and  this  autumn,  from  thirty 
rods  of  land  I  gathered  seventy-one  bushels  of  cran- 
berries. Eespectfully, 

November  28, 1855.  A.  CROWELL. 


LETTER   IV. 

DEAR  SIR: — I  have  a  small  piece  of  cranberry 
ground  near  the  sea  shore,  the  soil  is  part  peat  and 
part  beach  sand.  Those  vines  that  were  placed  in  the 
sandy  soil  look  well ;  have  yielded  from  one  bushel 
to  two  and  a  half  per  rod  the  past  year.  Those  in  the 
peat  soil  look  very  well,  but  have  net  been  so  fruitful 

Yours  truly, 

November  27, 1855.  JOHN 


86  CORRESPONDENCE. 

LETTER   V. 

DEAR  SIR  : — I  received  yours  bearing  date  of  4th 
inst.,  asking  a  few  questions  in  relation  to  my  experi- 
ence in  the  "  culture  of  cranberries,"  which  is  not  very 
extensive ;  but  have  some  experience  as  I  have  now 
under  cultivation  four  different  lots,  one  of  about 
three-fourths  of  an  acre;  one  fine  mixed  sand  of  a 
red'ish  and  white,  intermixed  with  quick  sand,  which 
have  been  set,  one-half  eighteen,  and  the  other  eight 
months,  and  have  flourished  well. 

My  second  lot  was  set  about  eighteen  months  on  a 
redish  sand,  with  stones,  mixed  with  a  clay  loam ;  this 
also  is  doing  well. 

My  third  lot  is  on  a  salt  meadow,  dyked  in,  this  lot 
has  but  a  small  part  been  set  with  vines,  as  it  was 
found  to  be  too  salt,  which  will  kill  the  vines  in  mid- 
summer; the  meadow  is  covered  with  white  beach 
sand  where  the  vines  are  set,  I  think  this  flourishes 
the  best  if  the  salt  is  sufficiently  soaked  from  the  soil. 
This  I  consider  my  best  piece,  except  a  lot  lately 
bought;  the  material  to  set  the  vines  being  coarse 
beach  sand,  and  sufficiently  low  that  water  is  not  too 
far  from  the  vines  in  the  driest  season. 

My  opinion  is,  that  the  cranberry  vine  will  grow 
the  fastest,  and  bear  the  largest  and  finest  fruit  on 
what  I  call  coarse  beach  sand,  in  low,  wet  soil ;  such 


CORRESPONDENCE.  87 

places  we  value  the  most,  as  the  vines  run  over  the 
ground  so  as  to  cover  it,  in  from  two  to  three  years,  when 
set  three  feet  apart,  in  hills,  and  will  pay  from  twenty- 
five  to  fifty  per  cent,  on  all  investments  in  land,  where 
it  does  not  require  much  expense  to  remove  the  land 
to  a  suitable  distance  from  the  water. 

Yours  respectfully, 

E.  CROWELL. 
NEW  YORK,  December  7,  1855. 


LETTER    VI. 

DEAR  SIR: — In  answer  to  your  request  for  some 
account  of  my  experience  in  the  production  of  the 
cranberry,  I  will  say,  that  some  ten  years  since  I  was 
encouraged  (from  the  success  of  some  of  my  neigh- 
bors in  the  cultivation  of  the  cranberry),  to  try  the 
experiment  on  a  small  spot  of  ground,  very  near  the 
sea-shore,  in  a  hollow,  where  the  water  in  the  winter 
and  spring  stood  to  the  depth  of  a  foot  in  the  deepest 
part.  It  generally  dried  away  by  June.  I  had  pre- 
viously drained  and  sowed  it  down  to  grass,  in  plough- 
ing for  that  purpose,  I  had  discovered  some  two  or 
three  vines  which  stretched  out  before  the  plough  to 
the  length  of  six  feet  or  more,  which  I  thought  indi- 
cated a  favorable  location. 


88  CORRESPONDENCE. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  I  went  to  a  swamp  where 
vines  grew  wild,  and  dug  out  forty  sods,  I  then  dug 
out  holes  with  a  stub  hoe,  about  three  feet  apart,  into 
which  I  put  these  sods  of  vines,  and  stamped  them  in 
with  my  feet.  The  next  season  the  vines  grew  rapid- 
ly, and  as  they  spread,  the  other  grasses  diminished 
till  the  vines  had  complete  possession  of  about  six 
rods  of  ground  on  one  side  of  the  pond  or  hollow, 
where  the  sand  from  the  beach  had  blown  in  and 
raised  the  ground  a  little.  For  the  last  three  or  four 
years  there  has  been  produced  from  one  peck  to  one 
bushel  per  rod.  The  fruit  on  one  side  of  these  vines, 
very  soon  after  they  are  out  of  blossom,  rots  very 
much,  in  some  seasons  more  than  one-half  of  the  crop 
is  thus  destroyed  before  maturity.  I  am  unable  to 
account  for  the  decay  on  one  part  of  the  lot,  while  on 
the  other  they  come  to  maturity  as  sound  as  cran- 
berries in  general. 

Three  years  since  I  had  the  whole  lot  improved  and 
set  with  vines,  they  grow  very  well,  and  the  fruit  pro- 
duced is  sound  and  healthy.  The  last  season  was 
very  dry,  some  of  the  vines,  I  fear,  are  destroyed,  the 
fruit  was  literally  baked  on  the  vines.  This  spot  is 
some  twenty  feet  above  the  sea,  the  water  during  the 
winter  and  spring  is  held  by  a  bed  of  blue  clay, 
which  lies  about  three  feet  below  the  surface. 

In  the  autumn  of  1850  I  commenced  improving 


CORRESPONDENCE.  89 

another  swamp  for  the  production  of  cranberries ;  this 
swamp  was  covered  with  brush  and  briers,  in  the 
winter  it  was  filled  with  water  to  the  depth  of  from 
one  to  two  feet.  My  operations  were  commenced  by 
cutting  the  brush  off  even  with  the  ice  in  the  winter, 
then  filling  in  with  common  earth  (a  sandy  loam)  to  a 
level  three  inches  above  the  water  line.  In  June  fol- 
lowing I  set  my  vines  in  hills,  about  two  feet  apart, 
they  have  grown  very  well,  are  nearly  matted  over 
the  ground,  and  in  1854  I  picked  about  six  bushels 
from  one-fourth  of  an  acre.  The  last  season  there  was 
a  prospect  of  an  increase  in  the  product,  a  much 
larger  quantity  put  out  on  the  vines,  but  the  crop  was 
almost  entirely  destroyed  by  the  worm,  which  attacked 
them  before  they  were  fully  grown,  and  continued 
till  nearly  ripe. 

I  have  continued  my  operations  upon  this  same 
swamp  till  now,  I  have  my  whole  claim,  about  two 
acres,  set  with  vines.  I  have,  in  filling  in  the  swamp, 
used  common  earth,  dead  sand  from  the  bank,  clay 
loam  and  white  sand,  and  in  all  cases  taken  the  ground 
whence  I  took  my  earth  down  to  nearly  level  with  the 
swamp  and  set  it  with  vines.  I  have  to  contend  with 
rushes  which  grow  rapidly  where  I  have  filled  in  with 
bank  earth  and  loam,  I  mow  and  rake  them  off  in 
July.  In  places  where  I  have  followed  three  or  four 
years,  they  are  fast  diminishing,  and  will  soon  be  over- 


90  CORRESPONDENCE. 

come  by  the  vines.  On  portions  of  this  swamp  cover- 
ed with  the  white  sand  the  vines  grow  much  more 
rapidly.  I  have  some  which  have  been  planted  three 
years,  which  are  very  well  matted  now  over  the 
ground.  From  my  inexperience  I  have  not  been  suffi- 
ciently careful  in  clearing  the  ground  of  wild  plants, 
but  am  much  troubled  with  a  species  of  low  black 
berry,  which  I  try  to  exterminate  by  pulling  it  up  by 
hand. 

I  would  recommend  to  every  beginner  to  be  very 
careful  to  clear  the  ground  of  all  noxious  roots  and 
plants ;  also  in  the  selection  of  vines,  and  set  such  only 
as  are  known  to  bear  fruit. 

On  the  whole,  I  think  my  experiments  (though 
vines  grow  well  and  look  promising)  have  not  been 
attended  with  the  success  of  some  of  my  favored 
neighbors.  I  think  my  location  is  not  the  best,  but 
am  not  discouraged.  Bespectfully, 

JOSEPH  HALL. 


LETTER   VII. 

DEAR  SIR  : — Agreeable  to  your  request  I  proceed 
to  give  my  opinion,  which  is  formed  from  my  own 
personal  experience,  on  the  best  mode  of  the  culture 


CORRESPONDENCE.  91 

of  cranberries.  Coarse  light  sandy  soil  is  best  adapted 
to  the  growth  of  cranberries.  The  ground  should  be 
low  and  moist.  The  best  mode  for  planting  is  by 
transplanting  the  vines.  Sometimes  I  set  them  in 
drills,  sometimes  in  sods,  say  twelve  inches  apart. 
The  best  time  for  transplanting  is  in  October  or  No- 
vember. I  also  think  that  great  advantage  is  derived 
from  flooding — although  I  have  no  means  of  flooding 
mine,  except  the  rains,  but  when  they  are  flooded  I 
am  almost  certain  of  a  crop.  It  likewise  keeps  the 
vine  from  frost  during  the  winter,  and  kills  the  many 
insects  that  inhabit  these  places.  I  think  they  should 
be  drained  about  the  first  of  May.  It  usually  takes 
from  four  to  six  years  for  the  vines  to  get  properly 
run  together — they  then  yield  the  largest  cranberries. 
The  yield  per  rod,  as  average,  is  from  one  to  three 
bushels.  Yery  respectfully  yours, 

December  8$,  1855.  HIRAM  HALL. 


LETTER   VIII. 


DEAR  SIR  : — In  reply  to  your  inquiry  concerning 
the  cultivation  of  cranberries,  I  will  say,  that  three 
years  ago  I  set  out  in  May  about  one-half  acre  with 


92  CORRESPONDENCE. 

cranberry  vines,  on  a  piece  of  swamp  land,  bordering 
on  the  meadow.  It  was  covered  with  brakes,  bayberry 
and  whortleberry  bushes.  I  took  off  the  brush  and  top 
sod,  removing  all  the  roots,  and  with  them  built  a 
dyke  around  the  piece  to  keep  off  the  tide  water. 
Part  of  this  swamp  was  a  soft  quagmire,  the  other  a 
knoll  about  three  feet  high.  This  knoll  I  levelled  off 
by  wheeling  the  soil  into  the  bottom.  The  soil  was  a 
hard  black  sand.  I  then  set  out  the  vines  in  the  sods 
that  I  found  growing  along  by  the  edge  of  this  meadow, 
about  eighteen  inches  apart.  The  bottom,  where  I 
filled  in  sand,  grew  up  to  rushes,  so  as  to  obstruct  the 
spreading  of  the  vines.  On  the  upper  part  the  soil 
being  hard  and  surrounded  by  cold  spring  water,  I 
think  will  not  prove  a  favorable  location  for  the 
growth  of  cranberries. 

Kespectfully  yours, 
December  lOih,  1855.  HOWES  CHAPMAN. 


LETTER   IX. 


DEAR  SIR  : — In  the  year  1813,  by  my  father's  re- 
quest, I  planted  some  two  rods  of  cranberry  vines  by 
the  side  of  Scargo  Lake,  or  pond,  which  I  took  from 
a  swamp  where  they  grow  in  a  natural  state.  They 


CORRESPONDENCE.  93 

flourished  well  for  some  two  years  and  bore  some 
berries.  Then  being  neglected,  the  sand  blew  over 
them  and  they  soon  became  extinct. 

In  1840,  cranberries  bringing  a  very  high  price,  my 
attention  was  again  called  to  their  cultivation,  I  con- 
cluded to  go  to  work  on  the  same  spot  and  prepare  the 
ground,  which  I  did  by  removing  the  sand  and  levell- 
ing the  ground  of  about  fifteen  rods,  within  six  inches 
of  water.  I  then  planted  the  vines,  without  the  sod,  in 
hills,  about  two  feet  apart,  in  the  spring  of  the  year, 
they  grew  well,  bearing  every  year  but  one,  when  they 
were  overflowed,  the  water  remaining  on  them  until 
the  season  for  blooming  was  past,  as  the  pond  had  then 
no  outlet,  but  now  has. 

I  have  now  three-fourths  of  an  acre  set  with  vines, 
The  soil  is  coarse  sand,  and  lies  on  the  westerly  side  of 
said  pond.  I  have  never  received  any  injury  from 
frost,  spring  nor  fall,  and  have  always  delayed  gather- 
ing until  about  the  10th  of  October,  when  the  fruit 
would  be  ripe.  I  have  kept  no  record  of  the  num- 
ber of  bushels  I  have  gathered,  but  have  taken  two 
and  a  half  bushels  from  one  rod  in  some  years.  When 
I  first  commenced,  I  made  the  ground  level,  but  now 
I  leave  it  in  the  form  of  an  inclined  plane ;  my  reason 
for  this  alteration  is,  the  land  being  high,  and  too 
much  cold  water  oozing  from  the  ground,  which  I 
think  is  a  damage  that  causes  the  moss  to  grow  and 


94  CORRESPONDENCE. 

root  out  the  vines  very  soon ;   all  they  want  is  the 
ground  moist  and  loose. 

Yours  respectfully, 
December  13th,  1855.  THOS.  HALL. 


LETTER   X. 

DEAR  SIR  :—-In  the  fall  of  1852  I  bought  a  piece  of 
low  springy  land  adjoining  a  salt  meadow,  then  well 
covered  with  the  rush  grass.  I  put  on  from  the  ad- 
joining embankment  about  one  foot  of  sand ;  in  taking 
which  I  widened  my  cranberry  ground  about  two 
rods.  I  set  out  my  vines  the  same  fall  in  sods  eighteen 
inches  apart. 

When  spring  came  I  found  my  sods  or  vines  all 
thrown  out  of  the  ground  by  the  frost,  and  appearing  as 
though  they  had  never  been  planted.  I  then  again 
replanted  the  vines  hill  by  hill.  The  second  year  the 
rush  made  its  appearance  again  on  that  part  of  the 
ground  filled  in,  and  has  increased  to  this  time,  threat- 
ening destruction  to  everything  that  comes  in  its  way 
I  consider  this  piece  of  ground  a  failure,  except  the 
strip  two  rods  wide  adjoining  the  embankment  or 
upland. 

My  first  mistake  was,  selecting  a  cold,  springy  piece 


CORRESPONDENCE.  95 

of  land,  and  my  next  was,  planting  the  vines  in  the 
fall  on  a  piece  of  ground  that  could  not  be  protected 
from  the  frost  by  flowing,  by  which  means  the  vines 
were  stunted  and  their  vigor  destroyed  so  that  they 
could  not  compete  with  the  surrounding  grass,  and 
were,  therefore,  overpowered. 

I  have  one  other  piece  of  cranberry  ground  adjoining 
a  large  pond,  warm  and  sandy.  I  set  out  the  vines  on 
this  piece  in  May,  and  got  two  bushels  of  cranberries 
to  an  acre  the  same  year.  This  piece  having  been 
planted  but  eighteen  months,  promises  finely,  but  I  do 
not  expect  much  yield  till  the  third  year.  This  piece 
cost  me,  when  competed,  at  the  rate  of  $750  per  acre. 
It  is  made  on  the  poorest  sandy  soil  I  could  get,  and 
such  I  would  recommend  to  the  cranberry  grower,  as 
I  never  saw  a  soil  so  poor  that  cranberry  vines  would 
not  grow  in  it.  My  idea  is,  the  poorer  the  soil  the 
less  trouble  I  shall  have  to  keep  down  other  grass,  no 
fear  of  the  vines,  they  will  grow  where  no  grass  will. 

Yours, 

December  llth,  1855.  J.  0.  HOWES. 


LETTER   XI. 

DEAR  SIR: — I  received  yours  of  the  8th  instant, 
and  will  proceed  to  answer  your  questions  : 


96  CORRESPONDENCE. 

"  On  what  location  do  you  prefer  to  plant  vines  ?" 
I  consider  them  rather  of  a  marine  plant,  and  there- 
fore should  prefer  to  plant  as  near  salt  water  as  possi- 
ble, and  not  have  them  overflowed  with  salt  water. 

11  "What  soil  do  you  prefer  ?"  A  wet,  sandy  soil, 
the  whiter  the  sand  the  better.  My  reasons  are,  there 
will  be  less  grass  grow  to  choke  the  cranberry  vine, 
and  the  berry  will  grow  larger. 

"  What  is  your  method  of  setting  out,  in  hills  or 
drills  ?"  I  have  set  them  in  hills  and  in  drills,  and 
am  not  able  to  decide  which  flourishes  best. 

"Do  you  flood?"  I  do,  where  it  is  practicable  it 
protects  the  vine  from  frost. 

"  Do  you  consider  it  a  profitable  undertaking?"  I 
do,  if  any  one  has  a  proper  place.  I  have  raised  three 
bushels  of  cranberries  on  one  rod. 

Kespectfully,  J.  FKEMAN. 

ORLEANS,  December  10$,  1855. 


The  following  instructions  were  written  by  Mr. 
Bates,  to  guide  those  who  intended  to  cultivate  the  cran- 
berry on  uplands.  We  subjoin  it  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  the  intending  cultivator  the  advantage  of  this 
method : — 


CORRESPONDENCE.  97 

"1st.  Select  a  situation  for  your  cranberry  field  on  a 
clay  soil,  on  such  as  is  not  liable  to  bake,  or  on  a  dark 
loam  soil,  or  on  all  moist  soils  where  there  is  a  mix- 
ture of  sand,  mostly  of  reclaimed  lands ;  such  as  can 
be  made  moderately  dry,  are  well  adapted  to  grow  the 
cranberry.  In  fact  most  all  soil  that  is  natural  to 
grow  the  potatoe,  is  well  adapted  to  grow  the  cran- 
berry, (yet  the  first  mentioned  soil  would  be  preferred). 
I  think  there  are  portions  on  most  of  the  farms  situ- 
ated in  the  Middle  States,  and  their  vicinity,  that  are 
well  adapted  to  grow  the  cranberry,  and  I  should  pro- 
pose to  all  desirous  of  commencing  the  business,  to  put 
their  plants  on  different  parts  of  their  soil,  and  by  so 
doing  the  better  soils  may  be  ascertained.  As  far  as  I 
have  ascertained,  there  are  three  varieties  of  cranberry, 
viz: — the  Bugle,  the  Cherry,  and  the  Bell — I  have 
never  known  of  any  other  variety  of  the  berry  that 
would  naturalize  to  dry  soil  except  the  Bugle  cran- 
berry ;  this  species  of  the  berry  grows  much  in  the 
form  of  an  egg — it  is  inclined  to  grow  in  the  wild 
state  on  the  borders  of  cranberry  bogs,  spreading  its 
way  to  upland  soil,  this  species  is  much  larger  than 
the  others  in  its  wild  state.  Persons  engaging  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  article  should  commence  with  the 
last  mentioned  species,  and  by  commencing  with  those 
that  have  been  cultivated  and  naturalized  to  a  dry  soil, 
they  will  much  sooner  accomplish  their  object,  and 
5 


9  8  CORRESPON  DENCE. 

with  nmcli  less  trouble  and  expense,  as  the  plants 
multiply  and  increase  abundantly.  Persons  com- 
mencing with  one  or  two  thousand  will  be  able  to  ob- 
tain plants  of  their  own  raising  sufficient  to  trans- 
plant acres  in  two  or  three  years. 

"  2d.  Prepare  your  soil  the  same  as  for  sowing  grain, 
by  plowing,  harrowing,  and  making  your  soil  even — 
then  mark  it  out  in  drills,  eighteen  or  twenty  inches 
apart,  putting  the  plants  in  the  drills  five  or  six  inches 
apart — hoe  them  slightly  at  first,  till  the  roots  become 
clinched,  and  afterwards  no  other  cultivation  is  needed. 
The  plants  may  be  expected  to  run  together  and  cover 
the  whole  soil  in  two  or  three  years.  The  cranberry 
grown  by  cultivation  usually  yields  from  150  to  400 
bushels  per  acre;  its  fruit  is  two  or  three  times  as 
large  as  the  wild  fruit,  and  of  beautiful  flavor;  it 
readily  keeps  sound  from  the  harvest  time  of  it  to  the 
time  of  harvest  again." — Maine  Farmer. 


LETTER   XU. 

DEAR  SIR  : — I  have  tried  the  experiment  of  raising 
cranberries  on  the  uplands.  In  the  fall  of  1852  I  set 
out  vines  on  about  one-quarter  of  an  acre  of  ground, 
which  was  on  a  very  high  hill,  the  soil  was  a  gravelly 


CORRESPONDENCE.  99 

loam.  The  vines  lived  and  bore  a  few  cranberries* 
The  .soil,  I  think,  was  rather  too  rich,  having  been 
manured  the  year  previous;  in  consequence  of  this, 
the  grass  grew  up  and  choked  the  vines.  Besides  this, 
the  summer  following  the  one  in  which  I  set  my  vines 
we  had  a  severe  drought,  which  dried  and  baked  the 
ground  to  the  great  injury  of  the  vines.  I  believe 
that  if  I  had  set  out  the  vines  in  the  spring,  and  hoed 
them  two  or  three  times  during  the  season,  they  would 
have  done  much  better  and  yielded  a  larger  crop. 

From  the  experiments  which  I  have  made  in 
upland  cultivation  of  the  cranberry,  I  believe  that  the 
vine  can  be  successfully  cultivated  on  the  upland ;  . 
providing  the  vines  are  well  cultivated.  I  design  set- 
ting out  another  patch,  on  the  cultivation  of  which  I 
intend  to  apply  the  knowledge  I  have  gained  from  my 
former  experiment.  Eespectfully, 

JAMES  HOWES. 


LETTER   XIII. 


DEAR  SIR  : — Yours  to  Thomas  Lathrop,  Esq.,  of 
the  8th  inst,  came  duly  to  hand,  and  he  has  request- 
ed me  to  answer  your  questions  to  him. 

1,  As  to  the  location,  "  before  the  growing  of  cran- 


100  CORRESPONDENCE. 

berries  there,"  he  would  state  that  it  was  a  swamp 
varying  from  two  to  five  feet  in  depth  of  water  and 
springy  peat.  Beach  sand  (the  only  soil  we  have  here) 
was  carried  on  so  as  to  raise  the  swamp  a  few  inches 
above  the  ordinary  height  of  the  water  in  July,  and 
the  vines  were  set  in  said  sand. 

2.  As  to  the  kinds  of  soil,  we  have  but  one  kind  in 
this  town,  and  that  is  pure  beach  sand ;  hence  we  can 
"  prefer"  no  other  if  we  would. 

3.  Mr.  Lathrop  is  unable  to  "  determine"  the  cost 
of  preparing  the  ground  and  setting  his  vines.     His 
work  has  been  expensive,  as  it  was  preparatory  to  his 
future  doings.     Much  of  it  has  been  in  roads,  beach 
grassing  hills,   &c.     He  will  bring  into  vines  about 
seventy  acres  at  much  less  cost  than  his  four  or  five  of 
cranberry  ground  now  in  good  condition. 

4.  As  to  "  flooding  vines,"  nature  does  all  that  is  or 
can  be  done  in  this  respect.    The  water  in  all  our  back 
swamps  (and  some  of  these  contain  several  hundred 
acres)  is  upon  the  same  level.    How  can  you  make  it 
otherwise  with  beach  sand  through  which  the  water 
must  filtrate  so  readily?      Vines  are  now  in   most 
places  one  foot  or  more  from  (or  above)  the  water. 

5.  The  "yield  per  acre"  cannot  be  definitely  deter- 
mined, as  his  vines  are  not  regarded  as  yet  fully  in  a 
bearing  condition.      His  lot  first  planted  of  two  or 
three  acres,  (he  has  never  measured  it)  about  the  sixth 


CORRESPONDENCE.  101 

year  yielded  seventy  barrels — the  next  year  fifteen 
barrels — and  the  next,  or  the  last  year,  eighty  barrels. 
The  springs  were  very  low  the  last  year,  and  the 
berries  suffered,  otherwise  I  think  he  would  have 
doubled  the  quantity.  He  has  kept  most  of  them,  and 
has  had  offered  $16  per  barrel,  in  New  York.  You  will 
agree  with  me  in  supposing  that  low  as  it  is,  $1280  is 
not  a  small  income  from  so  small  a  field. 

In  Mr.  Lathrop's  absence  I  make  these  statements- 
Perhaps  hereafter  he  will  favor  you  with  other  and 
more  interesting.  I  have,  however,  been  familiar  with 
all  his  management,  and  am  personally  interested  in 
the  cranberry  culture.  I  have  recently  bought  one- 
sixth  of  a  cranberry  swamp,  where  the  company  have 
built  a  house,  and  employed  a  man  by  the  year  in 
bringing  it  to  cranberry  vines.  I  also  own  another 
lot,  where  at  much  less  expense  I  hope  to  bring  a  large 
lot  into  cranberry  land. 

There  are  companies,  like  that  with  which  I  am  con- 
nected, formed,  and  they  have  brought  swamp  into 
vines  at  a  cost  from  $200  to  $400  per  acre. 

Yours  truly.  0.  MYEICK. 

PROVINCETOWN,  December  12th,  1855 


The  following  letter,  cut  from  the  Journal  of  Cvm 
merce,  which  was  communicated  by  Mr.  Bagley,  will  be 


102  CORRESPONDENCE. 

both  instructive  and  interesting,  as  it  very  forcibly 
illustrates  some  of  the  principles  laid  down  in  this 
"  Manual."  We  commend  it  to  the  reader,  believing 
that  useful  hints  may  be  gathered  from  it,  and  applied 
on  some  lands,  to  the  successful  cultivation  of  the 
cranberry : 

CRANBERRIES — THEIR  CULTIVATION. 

"I  chose  for  the  experiment  a  maple  swamp  on  high 
land,  containing  peat  (95-100  vegetable  matter)  from 
one  to  ten  feet  deep.  We  commenced  draining  it  in 
June,  1849,  and  having  set  a  few  vines  for  trial,  we 
proceeded  to  cultivate  corn  and  potatoes ;  but  finding, 
after  two  or  three  years,  that  we  were  obliged  to  keep 
it  too  dry  for  cranberries,  we  concluded  to  set  it  all  with 
vines,  in  order  to  flow  it,  which  would  injure  other 
crops,  and  I  have  now  nine  acres  of  vines,  mostly  set 
within  about  three  years.  My  mode  of  cultivation  is 
as  follows,  viz. :  we  clear  up  the  swamp  by  taking  off 
the  top,  roots  and  all,  to  the  depth  of  one  foot  or  more 
(which  makes  excellent  manure  for  the  adjoining  up- 
land), and  having  drained  it  by  ditching,  mark  out  the 
ground  with  the  corner  of  the  hoe,  and  set  out  the 
vines,  which  we  have  obtained  from  the  common  wild 
bogs,  wherever  we  could  get  them ;  and  having  drop- 
ped five  or  six  vines  in  the  hoe  mark,  stamp  them  in 
with  the  heel,  and  haul  on  some  dirt  with  the  hoe, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  103 

covering  the  vines  about  two-thirds  up  with  dirt. 
This  operation  may  be  performed  at  any  time  of  the 
year,  when  the  ground  is  not  frozen,  if  not  too  dry. 
It  is  then  necessary  to  keep  them  clear  of  grass  and 
weeds. 

"I  have  heretofore  thought  that  grass  would  not 
hurt  them  after  the  vines  got  well  spread ;  but  I  am 
convinced  by  this  year's  experience  that  they  cannot 
be  kept  too  clean.  I  have  one  acre  that  was  set  four 
years  ago.  About  three-quarters  of  the  acre  has  been 
covered  with  rushes,  and  is  now;  while  the  other 
quarter  at  one  end  of  the  lot  has  been  kept  clean.  I 
have  the  past  week  measured  off  one  square  rod  of  the 
clean  vines,  and  gathered  two-and-a-half  bushels  of 
berries  from  the  rod,  which  is  no  more  than  an  average 
of  the  quarter  acre,  which  will  be  testified  to  by  the 
gentleman  who  assisted  me  in  picking  them,  as  also  by 
several  other  gentlemen  who  have  seen  them  since,  as 
the  other  berries  yet  remain  on  the  vines.  The  other 
three-quarters  acre  covered  with  grass,  has  been  mostly 
picked ;  and  although  the  vines  are  as  large,  I  shall 
not  get  twenty-five  bushels  of  berries  from  the  three- 
quarters  acre — the  one  yielding  at  the  rate  of  four  hun- 
dred bushels  per  acre,  the  other  about  thirty,  showing 
the  great  advantage  of  keeping  the  vines  clean. 

"  My  meadow  would  probably  have  yielded  one  hun- 
dred barrels  more  this  year,  had  it  been  kept  clean.  I 


104  CORRESPONDENCE. 

pick  my  berries  by  hand,  as  I  am  convinced  there  is  no 
advantage  in  raking  them. 

"We  have  to  pick  after  the  rake,  and  I  do  not  think 
the  vines  will  bear  as  well  the  next  year.  I  flow  my 
meadow  about  two  feet  deep  in  the  month  of  December, 
and  keep  it  on  until  the  middle  of  May,  when  I  draw  it 
down,  leaving  about  two  inches  of  water  on  the  surface 
under  the  vines,  as  long  as  there  is  any  fear  of  the  frosts ; 
then  keep  it  as  near  the  top  of  the  ground  as  I  can. 
The  rake  also  bruises  the  berry,  and  causes  it  to  rot. 
I  find  the  cranberry  will  begin  to  bear  well  from  three 
to  five  years  after  setting.  -  The  cost  of  cultivation  I 
shall  put  in  round  numbers  as  follows,  viz. :  Cost  of 
land,  $12  per  acre;  cleaning,  $100;  vines  and  setting, 
$50 ;  cost  of  cultivation,  $10  per  year — for  four  years, 
$40 :  total,  $202.  But  the  top  that  we  take  off  is  worth 
$20  for  manure,  leaving  $182.  Interest  for  four  years, 
makes  $229.34  per  acre.  My  four-year-old  vines  that 
are  clear  from  grass  (say  half  an  acre  more  or  less), 
will  average  three  hundred  bushels  per  acre.  I  have 
been  offered  $2.50  per  bushel  above  the  cost  of  pick- 
ing, which  gives  one  a  clear  profit  over  and  above  the 
tjost  of  land  and  cultivation  on  the  half  acre,  of 
$260.33.  I  do  not  gather  my  berries  until  they  are 
ripe ;  for  if  picked  while  green,  they  are  bitter  and  un- 
fit for  use ;  although  by  spreading  they  may  become 
quite  red,  still  they  are  not  worth  half  price. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  1 05 

"  They  may  be  spread  on  floors,  or  put  in  good  bar- 
rels and  piled  on  the  north  side  of  a  building,  until 
cold  weather,  when  they  should  be  put  under  cover, 
in  a  cool  cellar,  or  building,  where  it  will  not  freeze 
hard. 

"  The  berry  will  not  be  as  red  as  it  would  be  if 
spread,  but  I  think  it  will  keep  better.  For  my  ex- 
periment with  the  cranberry  on  upland,  I  selected  a 
piece  of  new  land  where  the  wood  had  just  been  cut 
off.  I  had  it  dug  over  with  the  grub  hoe  in  the  fall  of 
1849,  taking  out  the  loose  stones  and  roots ;  and  hav- 
ing prepared  four  square  rods,  I  had  it  drilled  eighteen 
inches  apart,  filling  the  drills  with  peat  mud.  I  took 
the  vines  from  a  wild  wet  bog  in  the  month  of  Novem- 
ber, and  set  them  about  one  foot  apart  in  the  drills. 
This  is  all  that  has  been  done  for  them  except  to  keep 
them  clear  from  weeds  for  two  years. 

"In  the  fall  of  1853,  I  picked  from  the  lot  two 
bushels  and  three  pecks  of  berries.  In  the  summer  of 
1854,  they  bade  fair  to  yield  a  much  better  crop,  but 
were  cut  off  by  the  hot  and  dry  weather  in  August,  and 
I  did  not  get  quite  two  bushels. 

"Last  winter  the  vines  were  killed,  probably  by  the 
extreme  cold  weather,  but  sprang  up  again  from  the 
roots  and  bloomed  very  fully — but  so  late  in  the  season 
that  they  have  been  much  affected  by  the  drought,  and 
I  shall  not  get  more  than  one-and-a-half  bushel.  Tho 
5* 


106  COllRESPONDENCE. 

land  and  labor,  with  interest  for  four  years,  cost  about 
$1.25  per  rod.  This,  as  will  be  seen,  gives  a  good 
profit  ;  but  the  cranberry  crop  is  uncertain,  unless  in 
situations  where  they  can  be  flowed  in  winter  and  kept 
moist. 

"VARIETIES.  —  The  folly  of  asserting  that  there  is 
but  one  variety  of  the  cranberry,  can  only  be  equalled 
by  asserting  that  there  is  but  one  variety  of  the  apple, 
the  pear,  or  the  potato  —  the  former  maintaining  their 
peculiar  forms,  colors,  and  times  of  ripening,  as  dis- 
tinctly as  either  of  the  latter;  the  large  white  cran- 
berry, on  which  there  is  nothing  but  a  faint  blush 
(some  of  them  being  entirely  white),  growing  side  by 
side  with  the  small  and  entirely  red  berry,  that  is  never 
one-quarter  as  large.  So  with  many  other  kinds.  In- 
deed, they  vary  in  form  much  more  than  many  distinct 
varieties  of  the  apple. 

"  I  have  a  large  variety  on  my  meadow,  by  getting 
the  vines  from  all  the  wild  bogs  in  the  vicinity.  I 
have  several  kinds  growing  in  separate  beds,  and  have 
marked  several  other  kinds,  which  I  intend  to  set  by 
themselves  in  the  spring.  I  have  twenty  varieties 
put  up  for  "  The  American  Institute  Fair."  —  EDMUND 
BAGLEY,  in  Journal  of  Commerce. 


me  producers  are  not  prepared  to  admit 
that  there  are  more  than  two  or  three  varieties  of  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  107 

cranberry,  but  we  believe  that  more  extended  ac- 
quaintance with  this  fruit  will  set  them  at  a  higher 
number.]  SEPTIMUS. 


LETTER   XIV. 

DEAR  SIR  ,  — Having  had  some  experience  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  cranberry,  I  find  that  the  soil  best 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  cranberry  is  beach  sand, 
or  light  sandy  earth. 

In  our  selection  of  a  plat  we  should  be  particular  in 
making  use  of  one  that  can  be  flooded  from  November 
to  the  first  of  June,  which  prevents  the  insects  from 
destroying  the  blossom  or  cranberry.  To  do  this,  level 
the  surface  and  dyke  the  land  where  it  does  not  com- 
municate with  a  pond. 

The  best  time  for  transplanting  the  vine  is  the 
spring  months,  not  removing  the  earth  from  the  roots. 

December  llth,  1855.  Asa  AS  HOWES. 


108  VINES,  WHERE  TO  BE  HAD. 

VINES,  WHERE  TO  BE  HAD. 

From  what  has  been  stated  in  the  previous  parts  of 
this  manual,  some  readers  may  have  determined  upon 
attempting  the  cultivation  of  the  cranberry,  and  are 
desirous  of  obtaining  vines  of  the  quality  described — 
vines  which  have  been  naturalized  by  cultivation. 
I  can  recommend  all  such  inquirers  to  William  Crowell, 
Esq.,  of  No.  26  Coenties  Slip,  New  York,  N.  Y.,  for 
vines  with  which  to  set  out  a  patch  or  yard.  His  vines 
can  be  relied  upon  as  being  of  the  best  quality.  Letters 
addressed  to  him  or  the  author  of  this  work,  through 
the  publishers,  will  be  promptly  attended  to. 

The  vines  which  Mr.  Crowell  has  for  sale  are  trans- 
ported from  his  yard  on  Cape  Cod  to  New  York,  so 
that  orders  can  be  filled  as  soon  as  they  are  received. 
Good  vines,  I  mean  those  which  have  been  improved  by 
cultivation,  can  be  supplied  at  from  $7  to  $10  per  thou- 
sand. It  will  be  found  that  plants  of  this  description 
are  cheaper  in  the  end  than  those  which  are  procured 
wild  from  the  bog,  though  the  latter  are  furnished  at  a 
much  lower  rate.  It  will  require  some  years  to  bring 
the  wild  vine  to  that  state  of  perfection  which  belongs 
to  the  cultivated  one.  And  the  probability  is,  that 
many  vines  obtained  wild  from  the  swamp  are  barren ; 
it  will  therefore  be  cheaper  to  purchase  those  the  quali- 
ties of  which  are  known  and  proved. 


APPENDIX 


TO  THE 


FURNISHED  BY  THE  HON.  SIMON  BROWN,  EDITOR  OP  THE  "  NEW  ENGLAND 
FARMER,"  FROM  THE  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  MIDDLESEX  COUNTY 
AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY,  MASSACHUSETTS,  1855. 

I  ACKNOWLEDGE  my  obligations  to  the  Hon.  Simon 
Brown,  Editor  of  the  New  England  Farmer  for  the  ma- 
terial which  constitutes  the  appendix  to  this  treatise. 

I  commend  what  is  here  embodied  to  the  careful  at- 
tention of  the  reader,  believing  that  he  will  find  the 
intelligent  statements  made  on  the  culture  of  cranberries 
to  be  worthy  of  his  notice.  They  are  highly  practical, 
and  if  carried  out  on  the  lands  distinctly  named  herein, 
they  will  be  followed  with  some  degree  of  success.  I 
would  call  the  reader's  attention  more  especially  to  the 
statistics  which  are  given,  as  they  so  clearly  show  that 
what  has  been  said  on  this  fruit  is  not  an  exaggeration 
of  its  value  to  the  farmer. 

The  following  are  taken  from  the  Eeport  of  >he  Mid- 
dlesex County  (Mass.)  Agricultural  Society  foi 

(109) 


110  APPENDIX. 

MR.  ADDISON  FLINT'S  METHOD  OF  CRANBERRY  CULTI 
VATION,  WITH  STATISTICS. 

To  the  Committee  on  Cranberries* 

GENTLEMEN  : — I  see  in  your  advertisement  of  pre 
miums  to  be  distributed,  one  for  Cranberries,  which  I 
hope  to  obtain ;  and  I  refer  you,  for  a  description  of  the 
manner  in  which  I  proceeded  to  raise  them,  to  the  Ag- 
riculture of  Massachusetts,  as  shown  in  the  returns  of 
the  Agricultural  Societies  of  1853,  pp.  245,  as  follows : — 

ME.  FLINT'S  STATEMENT. — In  the  autumn  of  1843, 
I  built  a  dam  and  flowed  the  swamp  from  that  time  till 
August,  1846 ;  then  let  off  the  water. 

The  following  October,  burnt  over  the  swamp  and 
set  the  vines.  The  vines  were  cut  up  with  a  sharp  hoe 
or  shovel,  and  set  in  hills,  three  and  one-half  feet  apart; 
the  bunches  about  the  size  of  a  quart  measure. 

In  raising  from  the  seed,  I  planted  in  October,  1846, 
about  half  an  acre ;  crushing  each  berry  between  the 
thumb  and  finger,  and  placing  it  just  under  the  mud, 
single  berries  in  a  hill,  three  and  a  half  feet  apart.  Also, 
sowed  broadcast  a  number  of  bushels  of  refuse  cran- 
berries the  following  spring.  Yery  few  vines  appeared 
from  them  for  two  or  three  years ;  no  berries  till  1852, 
then  very  small ;  in  1853,  good  size,  in  quantity  worth 
picking. 

My  practice  has  been  to  stop  the  water  in  October, 


APPENDIX.  Ill 

and  keep  it  on  till  May,  or  until  the  weather  is  warm 
enough  to  start  vegetation — then  lower  it  down  to  the 
top  of  the  vines,  and  keep  it  on  them  until  I  think  the 
spring  frosts  are  over,  then  let  the  vines  be  fairly  out 
of  water  until  the  berries  are  grown — say  from  10th  to 
15th  August — then  draw  it  off  for  ripening  and  picking. 

We  found  three  or  four  small  beds  of  native  vines 
on  the  swamp,  after  we  let  off  the  water  to  set  the 
vines,  and  a  few  very  fine  berries ;  there  are  now  proba- 
bly a  dozen  beds  that  bear  berries. 

In  1850,  we  picked  seventeen  bushels  of  berries  on 
the  swamp ;  in  1851,  twenty -eight  bushels ;  in  1852, 
ninety-three  bushels ;  in  1853,  we  estimated  them  at 
one  hundred  and  fifty  bushels. 

In  1852,  the  native  vines  produced  by  estimation,  be- 
fore selling,  forty  bushels;  the  transplanted  vines,  sixty 
bushels ;  the  increase  this  year  is  principally  from  the 
transplanted  vines. 

I  now  give  you  a  statement  of  the  proceeds : 

1850,  picked  17  bushels,  sold  15  l£  bushels  for       #26  20 

1851,  "  28  "         «    26  "       "          70  00 

1852,  "  93  «  "    93            «       "        300  00 

1853,  «  52  bbls.,     «    52       bbls.       "        380  00 

1854,  "  47  "         "    47  "       "        305  00 

1855,  "  50  "  by  estimation,  probable  value  500  00 

$1581  00 

I  learn  from  the  first  Annual  Eeport  of  the  Secretary 
^>f  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  that  the  cost  of  preparing 


112  APPENDIX. 

land  and  setting  vines  is  $1,50  to  $1,87J  per  rod, 
which  is  very  extravagant,  compared  with  the  manner 
I  have  pursued: — 

The  cost  of  building  my  dam  by  contract      .        $20  00 
Ox  labor,  furnished  by  myself,  estimated      .  5  00 

Setting  vines  on  about  an  acre     .        .        .          25  00 

-$50  00 

The  cost  of  stopping  and  letting  off  water,  and 

taking  care  of  the  same  since  1846,  yearly, 

$10,00 $90  00 

Beckoning  the  cranberries,  for  the  past  six  years,  at 
six  hundred  bushels,  and  the  cost  of  picking  and 
marketing  the  same  at  75  cents  per  bushel  450  00 

$540  00 

Net  profit  on  $50,  expended  nine  years         .        .  $1041  20 

Yearly  income  on  $50         ......       115  67 

Respectfully  yours, 

North  Reading,  Sept.  25,  1855.         ADDISON  FLINT. 

[NOTE. — Since  the  above  statement  was  made,  the 
Secretary  has  learned  from  Mr.  Flint  that  he  had  just 
fifty  barrels  of  cranberries  as  his  crop  of  1855,  which 
he  sold  for  thirteen  dollars  a  barrel,  delivered  at  the  depot 
two  miles  from  his  house,  making  the  pretty  sum  of 
six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  as  the  product  of  two  acres 
of  what  was  quite  recently  an  almost  worthless  bog 
meadow.  Mr.  Flint  also  states,  that  in  looking  about 
he  notices  a  good  many  tracts  of  land  apparently  as 
good  for  the  cranberry  crop  as  his,  and  that  some  of  the 
pieces  might  much  more  readily  be  flowed  and  re 
claimed  than  his  own.] 


APPENDIX.  113 

MR.  AUGUSTUS  H.  LELAND'S  METHOD  OF  CRANBERRY 
CULTURE. 

GENTLEMEN: — The  piece  of  cranberry  meadow  to 
which  I  invite  your  attention,  contains  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  acre.  The  mud  and  peat  is  deep,  and 
the  plat  rests  on  a  light  layer  of  sand,  and  under  that, 
as  near  as  I  could  ascertain,  at  one  point  a  clayey 
gravel.  There  were  four  or  more  kinds  of  grass  upon 
this  piece  which  had  been  cut  off  yearly  ever  since 
my  rememberance. 

The  first  of  these  grasses  is  called  carex  filiformis — 
a  kind  of  sedge-grass,  which  passes  by  the  name  oi 
water-grass — grew  upon  the  greater  portion  of  this 
piece.  Another  kind  is  the  carex  stricta,  a  kind  of 
sedge-grass  called  hassock-grass,  and  also  a  narrow- 
leaved  sword-grass.  The  third  kind,  carex  lociistris,  a 
kind  of  sedge-grass  with  broad  leaf,  and  is  called  broad- 
leaved  sword-grass.  The  fourth  kind  is  scripus  erio- 
phorum,  the  true  name  being  wool-grass,  called  the 
broad-leaved  sword-grass  and  also  broad-grass.  These 
grasses  I  shall  allude  to  in  my  experience  which  will 
be  annexed  to  this  statement. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  year  1838,  I  think,  with  a 
cast-iron  shovel  ground  sharp  and  put  in  good  cutting 
order,  I  removed  squares  or  sods  of  the  turf  from  the 
ground,  one  side  of  these  squares  nearly  correspond 


114  APPENDIX. 

ing  in  length  to  the  width  of  the  shovel,  the  depth  of 
the  hole  being  from  four  to  five  inches.  I  then  from 
beds  of  vines  cut  sods  of  vines  corresponding  in  size 
and  in  depth  to  that  which  I  had  removed,  which  I 
placed  in  the  holes  already  made,  and  with  the  feet 
trod  or  pressed  them  firmly  into  the  hole,  that  they 
might  not  be  disturbed  by  the  action  of  the  ice  or 
water,  during  the  winter  or  spring.  The  distance  of 
these  sods,  or  hills,  one  from  another,  was  from  three 
and  a  half  to  four  feet.  As  some  of  these  vines  which 
I  transplanted  had  grown  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
inches  in  length  and  lay  nearly  level  with  the  ground, 
care  was  taken  to  raise  the  vines  and  place  the  shovel 
under  so  as  not  to  cut  off  the  vines,  and  also  to  get  a 
sod  of  the  proper  size,  otherwise  the  vines  would  be 
cut  off  and  greatly  injured.  As  far  as  I  have  seen, 
vines  which  are  of  much  length,  and  which  lay  under 
water  during  the  winter  and  spring,  will,  if  let  alone, 
naturally  lean  to  the  north-east,  (for  the  same  reason 
that  fruit  trees  lean  that  way),  and  as  I  rake  my  vines 
all  one  way,  that  is,  I  draw  the  rake  from  the  south- 
west to  the  north-east,  so  I  placed  those  sods  of  vines 
which  did  not  stand  erect  so  that  they  would  lean  to 
the  north-east. 

Every  year  since  the  year  1840,  these  vines  were 
eaten  up  as  regularly  as  the  year  came  round  by  a 
worm,  called  in  this  vicinity  the  cranberry  worm. 


APPENDIX.  115 

This  worm  may  be  the  same,  or  at  least  a  species  of 
the  same  worm,  which  operated  the  last  of  June  on 
the  apple  tree ;  its  appearance  to  the  eye  is  the  same, 
its  operations  the  same,  and  it  has  the  same  faculty  of 
jerking  itself  back  as  the  apple-tree  worm.  Some  sea- 
sons they  seemed  to  threaten  total  annihilation,  the 
vines  presenting  to  the  eye  the  same  appearance  that 
an  orchard  does  when  its  foliage  has  been  eaten  by  the 
canker  worm.  To  destroy  this  worm,  the  vines  were 
kept  under  water  from  spring  until  the  first  of  July, 
1852.  This  *  destroyed  all  the  worms  I  believe,  as  I 
.have  not  seen  one  since.  When  the  water  was  taken 
off  the  vines  grew  vigorously,  forming  the  blossom  bud 
?or  the  present  year,  and  the  result  is  as  handsome 
i  lot  of  berries  as  ever  was  seen. 

Nearly  every  year  I  have  cut  the  grass  near  the  first 
of  July,  thereby  giving  the  plants  the  air,  sun,  and 
light. 

One  side  of  this  piece  borders  upon  a  small  brook, 
which,  previous  to  my  cultivating  the  vine,  in  a  dry 
time  would  become  dry.  In  this  brook  I  formed  a 
dam  in  two  places ;  these  dams,  most  of  the  time  in 
a  season  like  this,  keep  the  meadow  wet,  and  the  water 
is  forced  back  among  the  vines,  the  object  of  which  is 
to  protect  them  from  frosts,  which  usually  occur  in 
all  the  summer  months  in  low  lands. 

In  addition  to  the  above  statement,  I  would  like  to 


116  APPENDIX. 

give  my  experience  in  the  cultivation  of  the  cranberry; 
I  would  do  it  with  the  hope  that  by  my  efforts  and 
experience,  whether  successful  or  otherwise,  the  culti- 
vators of  this  fruit  may  be  encouraged  and  emboldened 
to  persevere  in  the  cultivation  of  this  delicious  fruit, 
which  promises  the  cultivator  so  great  a  reward. 

It  is  more  than  twenty  years  since  I  entered  upon 
the  cultivation  of  the  vine  with  high  hopes,  believing 
that  the  cranberry  was  a  hard  thing  to  exterminate, 
that  it  would  destroy  grass  in  all  situations  and  in  all 
soils,  and  cause  even  hassocks  to  disappear.  But  after 
a  trial  and  many  years  of  observation,  I  find  the  cran-> 
berry  a  hard  plant  to  destroy,  except  with  the  plough, 
and  that  it  will  not  root  out  and  destroy  all  grasses  in 
all  situations  and  soils.  I  find  that  in  some  soils  the 
vine  will  not  drive  out  certain  kinds  of  grasses,  when 
in  other  soils  it  may  succeed.  Take  for  instance  that 
kind  of  sedge-grass  which  we  call  hassock-grass,  this 
upon  banks  of  streams,  and  in  our  swails  where  it  is 
more  or  less  irrigated,  roots  with  such  strong  hold  and 
throws  up  the  blades  of  grass  so  thickly  that  there  is 
no  room  for  the  vine  in  a  soil  less  rich,  and  the  vine 
will  in  all  probability  succeed. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  osmunda  spectabilis,  called  in 
this  vicinity  buckthorn,  and  is  known  to  botanists  by 
the  name  of  flowering  fern.  This  grows  in  the  form 
of  a  tree,  its  slender  stem  supporting  a  large  top  with 


APPENDIX.  117 

a  large  leaf,  overshadowing  all  around,  and  shutting 
out  the  sun,  light  and  air  so  much  that  the  vine  can- 
not grow.  On  one  occasion  I  set  out  vines  among  the 
flowering  fern  and  in  about  three  or  four  years  the 
sods  of  vines  could  not  be  found.  Close  by  the  side  of 
this  was  a  large  bed  of  vines,  covering  nearly  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  of  ground,  (except  four  or  five  little  places  of 
a  few  yards  in  each),  which  was  flowering  fern  or  buck- 
thorn. In  order  that  the  ground  might  be  compara- 
tively covered  with  vines,  I  cut  up  and  carted  this 
buckthorn  to  the  upland,  and  set  sods  of  vines  in  its 
place,  expecting  that  they  would  some  day  take  the 
place  of  the  buckthorn.  In  this  I  have  not  been  dis« 
appointed,  for  these  plats  are  loaded  with  the  largest 
fruit ;  so  thickly  do  the  berries  lay  this  day,  that  in 
rtome  places  they  would,  if  collected  and  laid  upon  a 
level  place,  completely  cover  the  ground.  But  this 
quarter  of  an  acre  of  vines  in  a  few  years  was  gone, 
except  a  few  stray  runners ;  the  flowering  fern  had 
taken  their  place,  and  the  plats  I  set  out  are  only  left  to 
tell  where  the  original  bed  of  vines  stood.  Now  I  do 
not  suppose  that  in  every  situation  and  kind  of  soil 
that  this  fern  would  supplant  the  place  of  the  vine — 
although  in  this  case  it  did.  I  have  several  small  plats 
of  ground  besides,  one  containing  some  fifty  square 
rods,  the  turf  containing  the  roots  of  the  buckthorn. 
I  cut  in  strips  about  fifteen  inches  wide,  and  set  it  up 
edge-wise  to  dry.  These  were  burnt  when  dry  and  the 


118  APPENDIX. 

ashes  carried  to  the  compost  heap,  as  they  are  not 
needed  on  this  soil. 

These  plats  were  set  with  sods,  with  most  excellent 
success — one-half  rod  gave  me  this  season  one  bushel 
of  berries,  which  is  at  the  rate  of  at  least  three  hun- 
dred and  twenty  busliels  to  the  acre.  These  experi- 
ments show  clearly  that  the  plant  cannot  be  set  in  this 
grass  with  any  prospect  of  success.  There  is  another 
kind  of  grass  called  polly  pod,  also,  small  brake,  Dry- 
opteris  ihelypleris,  which,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  where  it 
covers  the  ground,  casts  so  much  shade  that  the 
vine  cannot  succeed  in  it.  It  is  more  easily  pulled  up 
than  the  buckthorn  5  and  when  dried  and  burned, 
vines  may  be  set  with  good  results. 

There  is  another  kind  called  by  some  the  broad- 
leaved  sword-grass,  and  by  others  broad-grass,  and  by 
botanists  wool-grass,  scirpus  eriophorum.  It  grows  in 
round  plats  or  clumps,  varying  in  diameter  from  three 
to  twelve  feet.  In  the  piece  I  presented  to  you  for 
examination  there  are  several  plats  of  this  grass, 
which  show  that  the  vine  cannot  take  root  in  it. 

Upon  this  same  piece  of  ground  is  another  kind  of 
grass  covering  some  two  rods  called  carex  lacustris,  a 
coarse  kind  of  sedge-grass;  its  general  appearance 
does  not  differ  from  wool-grass,  the  blades  of  which 
are  no?  so  thickly  set  in  the  soil  as  the  wool-grass,  yet 
sufficiently  so  as  that  the  vine  succeeds  with  dif- 
ficulty. 


APPENDIX.  119 

The  other  kind  of  grass  in  this  piece  is  called  carex 
filiformis,  a  kind  of  sedge-grass,  and  water-grass.  This 
grows  in  wet  places,  throwing  a  less  number  of  blades 
which  cast  less  shade,  and  when  mown  there  is  less 
stubble  than  any  other  kind  of  grass  I  have  noticed. 
On  the  whole,  the  vines  have  flourished  quite  as  well 
in  this  as  in  any  other  grass,  although  my  success 
has  been  equally  good  on  one  piece  of  hassock  and 
sedge-grass. 

On  another  plat  which  was  covered  with  hassocks  I 
set  sods  between  them  which  have  nearly  disappeared, 
the  hassocks  standing  alone  in  their  glory.  I  would 
recommend  that  all  hassocks  be  removed  before  setting 
out  vines.  And  also,  let  no  man  set  out  rose-bushes 
with  his  vines. 

I  would  suggest  that  when  the  thermometer,  the 
direction  of  the  wind,  &c.,  denote  a  frost,  if  there  be  a 
stream  of  water  which  the  cultivator  can  command, 
that  a  dam  be  built  and  so  constructed  that  the  water 
may  be  thrown  back  during  a  cold  spell,  and  when  it 
is  past  let  the  water  run  again.  If  a  stream  of  water 
of  sufficient  size  does  not  flow — -reservoirs  of  water 
may  in  places  be  laid  up  for  use  in  a  frosty  time. 

As  far  as  my  observation  extends,  there  are  but  few 
soils  in  which  the  cranberry  will  not  flourish.  When 
they  will  not,  the  character  of  the  soil  may  be  changed 
by  carting  on  gravel,  loam  or  sand,  at  any  time  in 
winter;  if  necessary,  spread  it  upon  the  ice  from  one 


120  APPENDIX. 

to  thi  6  inches  in  depth ;  the  vines  will  find  their  way 
through  and  grow  with  new  life  and  vigor. 

I  have  in  two  instances  made  trial  of  burning  the 
vines  because  they  were  old  and  did  not  seem  to  bear 
fruit.  These  pieces  contained  together  some  ten  to 
fifteen  rods. 

I  can  see  no  good  reason  for  burning  vines  except  to 
destroy  the  cranberry  worm  when  it  cannot  be  done 
by  flowing  in  summer.  If  burning  is  resorted  to, 
great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  burn  in  too  dry  a  time. 
If  there  be  but  few  vines  and  other  matter  to  burn,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  select  a  time  more  dry  than  if 
there  were  a  great  body  of  vines — as  they  would  burn 
almost  any  time  when  once  on  fire. 

Meadows  for  cranberries  must  not  be  drained. 

Above  is  my  statement,  and  also  my  experience,  and 
I  rest  my  claim  for  the  premium  on  three  reasons. 

1.  The  successful  experiment  in  transplanting. 

2.  In  establishing  the  principle  that  flowing  until 
the  first  of  July  will  effectually  destroy  the  cranberry 
worm,  so  destructive  to  the  vine. 

And  lastly,  yet  by  no  means  the  least,  my  experi- 
ence and  observation  of  more  than  twenty  years  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  vine  in  the  different  grasses,  which 
may,  by  being  given  to  the  public,  save  those  who  cul- 
tivate this  fruit,  much  precious  tune  as  well  as  larga 
sums  of  money.  AUGUSTUS  EL.  LELAND. 

Sherhorn,  September  13,  1853. 


X 

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